A joint session or joint convention is, most broadly, when two normally separate decision-making groups meet together, often in a special session or other extraordinary meeting, for a specific purpose.

Most often it refers to when both houses of a bicamerallegislature sit together. A joint session typically occurs to receive foreign or domestic diplomats or leaders, or to allow both houses to consider bills together.

Some Constitutions give special power to a joint session, voting by majority of all Members of the Legislature regardless of which House/ chamber they belong to, for example, in Switzerland a joint session of the two houses elects the members of the Federal Council (cabinet). In India, disputes between Houses are resolved by a joint sitting but without an intervening election.[1]

Contents

In the Australian federal parliament, a joint sitting can be held, under certain conditions, to overcome a deadlock between the two houses, for a deadlock to be declared, a bill has to be rejected twice by the Senate at an interval of at least three months, after which a double dissolution election can be held. If, following the election, the new Parliament is still unable to pass the bill, it may be considered by a joint sitting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and must achieve an absolute majority of the total number of members and senators in order to pass. The only example of this occurring was the Joint Sitting of the Australian Parliament of 1974 under the WhitlamLabor government, at which six deadlocked bills were passed.

Because the House has twice as many members as the Senate, the former has an advantage in a joint sitting, however the voting system used for the Senate before 1949, which might be called "Multiple At Large voting", often led to landslide if not wipe-out results in each state, resulting in a winning margin over the whole of Australia of up to 36-0. That would have given the party or grouping enjoying such a large Senate majority an advantage in any joint sitting, had there been one.

The voting system now used for the Senate, quota-preferential proportional representation, almost inevitably leads to very evenly divided results. Six senators are elected from each State and two from each Territory. A party or grouping has to get at least 57% of the vote in any State to obtain a 4-2 majority of seats in that State, whereas from 51% to 56% of the vote yields only an equality of 3 seats to each major party or group.

In India, if an ordinary bill has been rejected by any house of the parliament and if more than six months have elapsed, the President may summon a joint session for purpose of passing the bill. The bill is passed by a simple majority of a joint sitting, since the lower house (Lok Sabha) has more than twice the members of the upper house (Rajya Sabha),[2][3] a group commanding a majority in the lower house of the Government of India can pass such a bill even if it was previously rejected by the upper house.

While the State of the Nation address occurs annually, and presidential elections occur every six years, the only time that the other two conditions were met after the approval of the 1987 constitution was after the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao after the Maguindanao massacre.

Decision making
–
This article deals with decision-making as analyzed in psychology. In psychology, decision-making is regarded as the process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several alternative possibilities. Every decision-making process produces a final choice, it may or may not prompt action, decision-making is the process of i

1.
Sample flowchart representing the decision process to add a new article to Wikipedia.

Bicameral
–
A bicameral legislature is one in which the legislators are divided into two separate assemblies, chambers or houses. As of 2015, somewhat less than half of the national legislatures are bicameral. Often, the members of the two chambers are elected or selected using different methods, which vary from country to country and this can often lead to th

Legislature
–
A legislature is a deliberative assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. Legislatures form important parts of most governments, in the separation of model, they are often contrasted with the executive. Laws enacted by legislatures are known as legislation, legislatures observe and steer governing ac

Leader
–
Leadership is both a research area and a practical skill encompassing the ability of an individual or organization to lead or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The literature debates various viewpoints, contrasting Eastern and Western approaches to leadership, US academic environments define leadership as a process of social

Bill (law)
–
A bill is proposed legislation under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an Act or a statute. The term bill is used in the United States and the Commonwealth. In the United Kingdom, the subparts of a bill are known as

India
–
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to

3.
Writing the will and testament of the Mughal king court in Persian, 1590–1595

Parliament of Australia
–
It consists of three elements, the Queen of Australia, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Queen is represented by the Governor-General, through both Houses, however, there is a fused executive, drawn from the Westminster System. The upper house, the Senate, consists of 76 members, twelve for each state, Senators are elected using the

3.
The Big Picture, opening of the Parliament of Australia, 9 May 1901, by Tom Roberts

Double dissolution
–
A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives and the Senate. A double dissolution is the circumstance in which the entire Senate can be dissolved. Similar to the United States Congress, but unlike the British Parliam

Australian House of Representatives
–
The Australian House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Australia. It is referred to as the house, with the Senate being referred to as the upper house. The House is almost always dissolved earlier, usually alone but sometimes in a double dissolution of both Houses, a member of the House may be referred to as a Member

2.
Australian House of Representatives

3.
House of Representatives' entrance

4.
Inside the House of Representatives

Australian Senate
–
The Australian Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter I, there are a total of 76 senators,12 senators are elected from each of the six states and two from each of the two autonomous internal territorie

2.
Australian Senate

3.
Entrance to the Senate

Joint Sitting of the Australian Parliament of 1974
–
A joint sitting of the Australian parliament was convened in 1974, in which members of the Senate and House of Representatives sat together as a single legislative body.57 had been met. All proceedings of the joint sitting were broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Commission and this would be the first Australian television coverage of parliame

1.
All 187 federal MPs at the 1974 joint sitting

Gough Whitlam
–
Edward Gough Whitlam AC QC was the 21st Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The Leader of the Labor Party from 1967 to 1977, Whitlam led his party to power for the first time in 23 years at the 1972 election. He won the 1974 election before being dismissed by the Governor-General of Australia, Sir John Kerr. Whitlam remains the

Australian Labor Party
–
The Australian Labor Party is a political party in Australia. The party has been in opposition at federal level since the 2013 election, Bill Shorten has been the partys federal parliamentary leader since 13 October 2013. The party is a party with branches in each state. Labor is in government in the states of Victoria, Queensland, Western Australi

Single transferable vote
–
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through ranked voting in multi-seat organizations or constituencies. The exact method of reapportioning votes can vary, Hare–Clark is the name given to STV in lower house elections in two Australian states and territories, Tasmania and the Australian Cap

1.
Carl Andræ

Federal Assembly (Austria)
–
The Federal Assembly is the name given to a formal joint session of the two houses of the bicameral Austrian Parliament, the National Council and the Federal Council. It is chaired by the presidents of the two parliamentary chambers taking turns presiding over its sessions, since 1945, the assembly has only met to swear the elected President of Aus

1.
Assembly hall of the former Imperial Council House of Representatives, venue of the Federal Assembly

Austrian Parliament
–
The Austrian Parliament is the bicameral legislature in Austria. It consists of two chambers, the National Council and the Federal Council, in specific cases, both houses convene as the Federal Assembly. The legislature meets in the Austrian Parliament Building in Vienna, the National Council is composed of 183 members elected through proportional

2.
Austrian Parliament Österreichisches Parlament

Belgian Federal Parliament
–
The Belgian Federal Parliament is the bicameral parliament of Belgium. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate and it sits in the Palace of the Nation. The Chamber of Representatives is the legislative body, the Senate functions only as a meeting place of the federal communities. The Chamber of Representatives holds its meeting

Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)
–
The Chamber of Representatives is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered to be the house of the Federal Parliament. Article 62 of the Belgian Constitution fixes the number of seats in the Chamber of Representatives at 150, there are 11 electoral districts, which correspon

3.
The Palace of the Nation in Brussels, home to both Chambers of the Federal Parliament of Belgium

Senate (Belgium)
–
The Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the house of the Federal Parliament. The 2014 elections were the first ones without an election of senators. Instead, the new Senate is completely composed of members of community and regional

3.
The Palace of the Nation in Brussels, home to both Chambers of the Federal Parliament of Belgium

4.
Seat of the presiding officers of the senate

Dutch language
–
It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after English and German. Dutch is one of the closest relatives of both German and English and is said to be roughly in between them, Dutch vocabulary is mostly Germanic and incorporates more Romance loans than German but far fewer than English. In both Belgium and the Netherlands, the official

1.
The Utrecht baptismal vow Forsachistu diobolae...

2.
Distribution of the Dutch language and its dialects in Western Europe

3.
Second edition of this column decorated with a title of Charles V 's portrait, with archaic Dutch inscriptions

4.
Dutch language street sign in the Netherlands

French language
–
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and

1.
The "arrêt" signs (French for "stop") are used in Canada while the international stop, which is also a valid French word, is used in France as well as other French-speaking countries and regions.

German language
–
German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other member

1.
Old Frisian (Alt-Friesisch)

2.
The widespread popularity of the Bible translated into German by Martin Luther helped establish modern German

Monarchy of Belgium
–
The monarchy of Belgium is a constitutional, popular and hereditary monarchy whose incumbent is titled the King or Queen of the Belgians and serves as the countrys head of state. There have been seven Belgian monarchs since independence in 1830, the incumbent, Philippe, ascended the throne on 21 July 2013, following the abdication of his father. Wh

Canadian government
–
The Government of Canada or more formally Her Majestys Government, is the federal government of Canada, a country in North America, composed of 10 provinces, Ottawa, and 3 territories. The head of government is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose party the Liberal Party of Canada won the majority of seats in the Canadian Parliament in the 2015 Can

1.
Richard Nixon addresses a joint session of the Parliament of Canada, 1972

House of Commons of Canada
–
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons chamber is located in the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the House of Commons is a democratically elected body whose members are known as Members of Parliament. There were 3

2.
The Canadian House of Commons, 1916

3.
The main doorway into the chamber of the House of Commons

4.
The chamber of the House of Commons; the Speaker's chair is at the rear and centre in the room.

Senate of Canada
–
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons and the Monarch. The Senate is modelled after the British House of Lords and consists of 105 members appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister, Senators may serve until they reach the age of 75. The Senate is the house of Par

4.
The throne and chair in the background are used by the Queen and her consort, or the Governor General and his or her spouse, respectively, during the opening of Parliament. The Speaker of the Senate employs the chair in front.

Parliament of Canada
–
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa, Ontario. The body consists of the Canadian monarch, represented by a viceroy, the general, an upper house, the Senate, and a lower house. Each element has its own officers and organization, by constitutional convention, t

Non-governmental organization
–
A non-governmental organization is a not-for-profit organization that is independent from states and international governmental organizations. They are usually funded by donations but some avoid formal funding altogether and are run primarily by volunteers, NGOs are highly diverse groups of organizations engaged in a wide range of activities, and t

Stakeholder (corporate)
–
The theory was later developed and championed by R. Edward Freeman in the 1980s. Since then it has gained acceptance in business practice and in theorizing relating to strategic management, corporate governance, business purpose. A corporate stakeholder can affect or be affected by the actions of a business as a whole, any action taken by any organ

Congress of France
–
Historically, during the Third and Fourth Republics, the Congress was gathered in Versailles to elect the President of France. The last president elected this way was René Coty who was elected on 23 December 1953, the Congress is composed of senators and deputies who come together in the meeting hall of the southern wing of the Château of Versaille

Parliament of France
–
The French Parliament is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate and the National Assembly. Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at a location in Paris, the Palais du Luxembourg for the Senate. Each house has its own regulations and rules of procedure, however, they may occasionally meet as a single house,

2.
French Parliament Parlement français

3.
Palais Luxembourg

Palace of Versailles
–
The Palace of Versailles, Château de Versailles, or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. Versailles is therefore not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime. First built by Louis XIII in 1623, as a lodge of brick and stone. The first phase of t

Constitution of France
–
The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle was the main driving force in introducing the new constitution and inaugurating the Fifth Republic, while the text was drafted by Michel Debré. Since then the constitution has been amended twenty-four ti

President of France
–
The President of the French Republic, is the executive head of state of the French Fifth Republic. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, and their relation with the prime minister, the current President of France is François Hollande, who took office on 15 May 2012. Hollande has announced that he stand down in the upcoming

Federal Convention (Germany)
–
The Federal Convention mirrors the aggregated majority situation of the Bundestag and the parliaments of the 16 German federal states. The Basic Law mandates that a maximum of three votes can be held, on the first two rounds a candidate must receive an absolute majority of delegates to be elected. After that, in the round, a plurality of all delega

President of Germany
–
The President of Germany, officially the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of state of Germany. Germany has a system of government in which the Chancellor is the nations leading political figure. However, the President has a role which, while not an executive post, is more than ceremonial, Presidents have extensive discretio

Bundestag
–
The Bundestag is a constitutional and legislative body at the federal level in Germany. For its similar function, it is described as a lower house of parliament along the lines of the US House of Representatives. The German constitution, however, does not define the Bundestag, since 1999 it has met in the Reichstag Building in Berlin. Norbert Lamme

States of Germany
–
Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen federal states. Since todays Germany was formed from a collection of several states, it has a federal constitution. The remaining 13 states are called Flächenländer, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 was through the unification of the western states created in the aftermath o

Parliament of India
–
The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. The Parliament is composed of the President of India and the houses and it is bicameral with two houses, the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The President in his role as head of legislature has powers to summon. The president can exercise these powers only upon the adv

2.
Indian Parliament Bhāratīya Sansada भारतीय संसद

3.
Parliament of India

President of India
–
The President of the Republic of India is the Head of State of India and the Commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. The oath of the President is taken in the presence of the Chief Justice of India, the President resides in an estate known as the Rashtrapati Bhavan situated in Raisina Hill in New Delhi. The presidential retreats are The Retr

Lower house
–
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position below the house, in many legislatures worldwide. A legislature composed of one house is described as unicameral. In comparison with the house, lower houses frequently display certain characteristics, Powers In a pa

1.
Inside the Australian House of Representatives

2.
Dáil Éireann, Republic of Ireland

Lok Sabha
–
The Lok Sabha is the Lower house of Indias bicameral Parliament, with the Upper house being the Rajya Sabha. The house meets in the Lok Sabha Chambers of the Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi, under the current laws, the strength of Lok Sabha is 545, including the two seats reserved for members of the Anglo-Indian community. The total elective membership

2.
Lok Sabha लोक सभा House of the People

Rajya Sabha
–
The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Membership of Rajya Sabha is limited by the Constitution to a maximum of 250 members, Members sit for staggered six-year terms, with one third of the members retiring every two years. The Rajya Sabha meets in continuous sessions, and unlike the Lok Sabha, however, t

Government of India
–
It is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. There is a bicameral Parliament with the Lok Sabha as a lower house, the judicial branch systematically contains an apex Supreme Court,24 high courts, and several district courts, all inferior to the Supreme Court. Similar to the government, individual state governments each consist of executive, le

Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002
–
The Prevention of Terrorism Act,2002 was an Act passed by the Parliament of India in 2002, with the objective of strengthening anti-terrorism operations. The Act was enacted due to several terrorist attacks that were being carried out in India, the Act replaced the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance of 2001 and the Terrorist and Disruptive Activitie

1.
Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002

Irish Free State
–
The Irish Free State was an independent state established in 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. That treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between the forces of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic, the Irish Republican Army, and British Crown forces, the Free State was established as a Dominion of the British Commonw

Republic of Ireland
–
Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a sovereign state in north-western Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the part of the island. The state shares its land border with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the

Philippines
–
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the capital city of the Philippines is Manila a

Congress of the Philippines
–
The Congress of the Philippines is the national legislature of the Philippines. It is a body consisting of the Senate, and the House of Representatives although commonly in the Philippines the term congress refers to the latter. The Senate is composed of 24 senators half of which are elected three years. Each senator, therefore, serves a total of s

3.
Angela Rippon, pictured in 1983, became the first female news presenter in 1975

4.
The combined newsroom for domestic television and radio was opened at Television Centre in West London in 1998.

LIST OF IMAGES

1.
Decision making
–
This article deals with decision-making as analyzed in psychology. In psychology, decision-making is regarded as the process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several alternative possibilities. Every decision-making process produces a final choice, it may or may not prompt action, decision-making is the process of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values and preferences of the decision-maker. Decision-making can be regarded as a problem-solving activity terminated by a solution deemed to be satisfactory and it is therefore a process which can be more or less rational or irrational and can be based on explicit or tacit knowledge. Cognitive, the decision-making process regarded as a continuous process integrated in the interaction with the environment, normative, the analysis of individual decisions concerned with the logic of decision-making, or communicative rationality, and the invariant choice it leads to. A major part of decision-making involves the analysis of a set of alternatives described in terms of evaluative criteria. Then the task might be to rank these alternatives in terms of how attractive they are to the decision-maker when all the criteria are considered simultaneously. Another task might be to find the best alternative or to determine the relative priority of each alternative when all the criteria are considered simultaneously. Solving such problems is the focus of multiple-criteria decision analysis and this leads to the formulation of a decision-making paradox. Logical decision-making is an important part of all science-based professions, where specialists apply their knowledge in an area to make informed decisions. For example, medical decision-making often involves a diagnosis and the selection of appropriate treatment and they may follow a recognition primed decision that fits their experience and arrive at a course of action without weighing alternatives. The decision-makers environment can play a part in the decision-making process, for example, environmental complexity is a factor that influences cognitive function. A complex environment is an environment with a number of different possible states which come. Studies done at the University of Colorado have shown that more complex environments correlate with cognitive function. One experiment measured complexity in a room by the number of objects and appliances present. Cognitive function was greatly affected by the measure of environmental complexity making it easier to think about the situation. Research about decision-making is also published under the label problem solving and it is important to differentiate between problem analysis and decision-making. Traditionally, it is argued that problem analysis must be done first, information overload is a gap between the volume of information and the tools we have to assimilate it

Decision making
–
Sample flowchart representing the decision process to add a new article to Wikipedia.

2.
Bicameral
–
A bicameral legislature is one in which the legislators are divided into two separate assemblies, chambers or houses. As of 2015, somewhat less than half of the national legislatures are bicameral. Often, the members of the two chambers are elected or selected using different methods, which vary from country to country and this can often lead to the two chambers having very different compositions of members. However, in many Westminster system parliaments, the house to which the executive is responsible can overrule the other house, some legislatures lie in between these two positions, with one house only able to overrule the other under certain circumstances. For example, one house would represent the aristocracy, and the other would represent the commoners as was the case in the Kingdom of England. Others, such as France under the Ancien Régime had a legislature known as the Estates General, which consisted of separate chambers for the clergymen, the nobility. The Founding Fathers of the United States also favoured a bicameral legislature, the idea was to have the Senate be wealthier and wiser. Benjamin Rush saw this though, and noted that, this type of dominion is almost always connected with opulence, the Senate was created to be a stabilising force, elected not by mass electors, but selected by the State legislators. Senators would be more knowledgeable and more sort of republican nobility—and a counter to what Madison saw as the fickleness. He noted further that the use of the Senate is to consist in its proceeding with more coolness, with system and with more wisdom. Madisons argument led the Framers to grant the Senate prerogatives in foreign policy, an area where steadiness, discretion, the Senate was chosen by state legislators, and senators had to possess a significant amount of property in order to be deemed worthy and sensible enough for the position. In fact, it was not until the year 1913 that the 17th Amendment was passed, as part of the Great Compromise, they invented a new rationale for bicameralism in which the Senate would have states represented equally, and the House would have them represented by population. Many nations with parliaments have to some degree emulated the British three-tier model, nevertheless, the older justification for second chambers—providing opportunities for second thoughts about legislation—has survived. An example of controversy regarding a second chamber has been the debate over the powers of the Canadian Senate or the election of the Senate of France. The relationship between the two chambers varies, in cases, they have equal power, while in others. The first tends to be the case in federal systems and those with presidential governments, the latter tends to be the case in unitary states with parliamentary systems. In the United States both houses of the U. S and this is due to their original location in the two-story building that was to house them. In Canada, the country as a whole is divided into a number of Senate Divisions, each with a different number of Senators, Senators in Canada are not elected by the people but are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister

3.
Legislature
–
A legislature is a deliberative assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. Legislatures form important parts of most governments, in the separation of model, they are often contrasted with the executive. Laws enacted by legislatures are known as legislation, legislatures observe and steer governing actions and usually have exclusive authority to amend the budget or budgets involved in the process. The members of a legislature are called legislators, each chamber of legislature consists of a number of legislators who use some form of parliamentary procedure to debate political issues and vote on proposed legislation. There must be a number of legislators present to carry out these activities. Some of the responsibilities of a legislature, such as giving first consideration to newly proposed legislation, are delegated to committees made up of small selections of the legislators. The members of a legislature usually represent different political parties, the members from each party generally meet as a caucus to organize their internal affairs, the internal organization of a legislature is also shaped by the informal norms that are shared by its members. Legislatures vary widely in the amount of power they wield, compared to other political players such as judiciaries, militaries. In 2009, political scientists M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig constructed a Parliamentary Powers Index in an attempt to quantify the different degrees of power among national legislatures, such a system renders the legislature more powerful. Legislatures will sometime delegate their legislative power to administrative or executive agencies, legislatures are made up of individual members, known as legislators, who vote on proposed laws. For example, a legislature that has 100 seats has 100 members, by extension, an electoral district that elects a single legislator can also be described as a seat, as, for, example, in the phrases safe seat and marginal seat. In parliamentary systems of government, the executive is responsible to the legislature which may remove it with a vote of no confidence, names for national legislatures include parliament, congress, diet and assembly. A legislature which operates as a unit is unicameral, one divided into two chambers is bicameral, and one divided into three chambers is tricameral. In bicameral legislatures, one chamber is considered the upper house. In federations, the upper house typically represents the component states. This is a case with the legislature of the European Union. Tricameral legislatures are rare, the Massachusetts Governors Council still exists, tetracameral legislatures no longer exist, but they were previously used in Scandinavia. Legislatures vary widely in their size, among national legislatures, Chinas National Peoples Congress is the largest with 2987 members, while Vatican Citys Pontifical Commission is the smallest with 7

4.
Leader
–
Leadership is both a research area and a practical skill encompassing the ability of an individual or organization to lead or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The literature debates various viewpoints, contrasting Eastern and Western approaches to leadership, US academic environments define leadership as a process of social influence in which a person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. Leadership seen from a European and non-academic perspective encompasses a view of a leader who can be moved not only by communitarian goals but also by the search for personal power. Studies of leadership have produced theories involving traits, situational interaction, function, behavior, power, vision and values, charisma, the search for the characteristics or traits of leaders has continued for centuries. Philosophical writings from Platos Republic to Plutarchs Lives have explored the question What qualities distinguish an individual as a leader, underlying this search was the early recognition of the importance of leadership and the assumption that leadership is rooted in the characteristics that certain individuals possess. This idea that leadership is based on individual attributes is known as the theory of leadership. In Heroes and Hero Worship, Carlyle identified the talents, skills, galtons Hereditary Genius examined leadership qualities in the families of powerful men. After showing that the numbers of eminent relatives dropped off when his focus moved from first-degree to second-degree relatives, in other words, leaders were born, not developed. Both of these notable works lent great initial support for the notion that leadership is rooted in characteristics of a leader, international networks of such leaders could help to promote international understanding and help render war impossible. This vision of leadership underlay the creation of the Rhodes Scholarships, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, however, a series of qualitative reviews of these studies prompted researchers to take a drastically different view of the driving forces behind leadership. Subsequently, leadership was no longer characterized as an individual trait, as situational approaches posited that individuals can be effective in certain situations. The focus then shifted away from traits of leaders to an investigation of the behaviors that were effective. Additionally, during the 1980s statistical advances allowed researchers to conduct meta-analyses and this advent allowed trait theorists to create a comprehensive picture of previous leadership research rather than rely on the qualitative reviews of the past. Equipped with new methods, leadership researchers revealed the following, Individuals can and do emerge as leaders across a variety of situations, fail to consider patterns or integrations of multiple attributes. Do not distinguish between those leader attributes that are generally not malleable over time and those that are shaped by, do not consider how stable leader attributes account for the behavioral diversity necessary for effective leadership. Considering the criticisms of the theory outlined above, several researchers have begun to adopt a different perspective of leader individual differences—the leader attribute pattern approach. David McClelland, for example, posited that leadership takes a strong personality with a well-developed positive ego, to lead, self-confidence and high self-esteem are useful, perhaps even essential. Kurt Lewin, Ronald Lipitt, and Ralph White developed in 1939 the seminal work on the influence of leadership styles, the researchers evaluated the performance of groups of eleven-year-old boys under different types of work climate

Leader
–
General Petraeus talks with U.S. soldiers serving in Afghanistan
Leader
–
A graphical representation of the managerial grid model
Leader
–
Julius Caesar, one of the world's greatest military leaders
Leader
–
Niccolò Machiavelli 's The Prince argues that it is better to be feared rather than to be loved.

5.
Bill (law)
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A bill is proposed legislation under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an Act or a statute. The term bill is used in the United States and the Commonwealth. In the United Kingdom, the subparts of a bill are known as clauses while the subparts of an Act are known as sections, the preparation of a bill may involve the production of a draft bill prior to the introduction of the bill into the legislature. In the United Kingdom, draft Bills are frequently considered to be confidential, in the British/Westminster system, where the executive is drawn from the legislature and usually holds a majority in the lower house, most bills are introduced by the executive. In principle, the legislature meets to consider the demands of the executive, while mechanisms exist to allow other members of the legislature to introduce bills, these are subject to strict timetables and usually fail unless a consensus is reached. In the US system, where the executive is formally separated from the legislature, Bills can be introduced using the following procedures, Leave, A motion is brought before the chamber asking that leave be given to bring in a bill. This is used in the British system in the form of the Ten Minute Rule motion, the legislator has 10 minutes to propose a bill, which can then be considered by the House on a day appointed for the purpose. While this rule remains in place in the rules of procedure of the US Congress, government motion, In jurisdictions where the executive can control legislative business a bill may be brought in by executive fiat. Bills are generally considered through a number of readings and this refers to the historic practice of the clerical officers of the legislature reading the contents of a bill to the legislature. While the bill is no longer read, the motions on the bill still refer to this practice, in the British/Westminster system, a bill is read the first time when it is introduced. This is accompanied by an order that the bill be printed and considered again, at the second reading the general merits of the bill are considered – it is out of order to criticise a bill at this stage for technical defects in drafting. After the second reading the bill is referred to a committee, the committee reports to the legislature, at which stage further amendments are proposed. Finally a third reading debate at which the bill as amended is considered in its entirety, in a bicameral legislature the process is repeated in the other house, before the Bill is submitted to the executive for approval. Where a piece of legislation is termed an act, the process of a bill becoming law may be termed enactment. Once a bill is passed by the legislature, it may become law, or it may need need further approval. Bills passed by the usually require the approval of the executive such as the monarch, president. In parliamentary systems, approval is normally a formality, since the head is directed by an executive controlled by the legislature

6.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety

7.
Parliament of Australia
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It consists of three elements, the Queen of Australia, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Queen is represented by the Governor-General, through both Houses, however, there is a fused executive, drawn from the Westminster System. The upper house, the Senate, consists of 76 members, twelve for each state, Senators are elected using the single transferable vote proportional representation system and as a result, the chamber features a multitude of parties vying for power. The governing party or coalition rarely has a majority in the Senate and usually needs to negotiate with other parties and this tends to lead to the chamber being dominated by two major parties, the Liberal/National Coalition and the Labor Party. The government of the day must achieve the confidence of this House in order to gain and remain in power, although elections can be called early, each 3 years the full House of Representatives and half of the Senate is dissolved and goes up for reelection. The two Houses meet in separate chambers of Parliament House on Capital Hill in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, the Commonwealth of Australia came into being on 1 January 1901 with the federation of the six Australian colonies. The inaugural election took place on 29 and 30 March and the first Australian Parliament was opened on 9 May 1901 in Melbourne by Prince George, Duke of Cornwall and York, later King George V. The only building in Melbourne that was enough to accommodate the 14,000 guests was the western annexe of the Royal Exhibition Building. After the official opening, from 1901 to 1927, the Parliament met in Parliament House, Melbourne and it had always been intended that the national Parliament would sit in a new national capital. This was a compromise at Federation due to the rivalry between the two largest Australian cities, Sydney and Melbourne, which wished to become the new capital. The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the capital city in 1908. A competition was announced on 30 June 1914 to design Parliament House, however, due to the start of World War I the next month, the competition was cancelled. It was re-announced in August 1916, but again postponed indefinitely on 24 November 1916, in the meantime, John Smith Murdoch, the Commonwealths Chief Architect, worked on the design as part of his official duties. He had little enthusiasm for the project, as he felt it was a waste of money. Nevertheless, he designed the building by default, the construction of Old Parliament House, as it is called today, was commenced on 28 August 1923 and completed in early 1927. It was built by the Commonwealth Department of Works, using tradesmen, the final cost was about £600,000, which was more than three times the original estimate. It was designed to house the parliament for a maximum of 50 years until a permanent facility could be built, the building was opened on 9 May 1927 by the Duke and Duchess of York. The opening ceremonies were both splendid and incongruous, given the sparsely built nature of Canberra of the time and its small population, the building was extensively decorated with British Empire and Australian flags and bunting

8.
Double dissolution
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A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives and the Senate. A double dissolution is the circumstance in which the entire Senate can be dissolved. Similar to the United States Congress, but unlike the British Parliament, governments, which are formed in the House of Representatives, can be frustrated by a Senate determined to reject their legislation. If the conditions are satisfied, the Prime Minister can advise the Governor-General to dissolve both houses of Parliament and call a full election, if the legislation is passed by the joint sitting, then the legislation is deemed to have passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The 1974 joint sitting remains the only occurrence in federal Australian history, historically, a double dissolution election has been called in lieu of an early election, with the formal trigger bill not playing a significant role during the subsequent election campaign. But such dissolution shall not take place six months before the date of the expiry of the House of Representatives by effluxion of time. If a bill is passed by a majority of the total membership of the joint sitting. The only time this procedure was invoked was in the 1974 joint sitting, the double dissolution provision comes into play if the Senate and House twice fail to agree on a piece of legislation. The conditions stipulated by section 57 of the Constitution are, The trigger bill originated in the House of Representatives, three months elapsed between the two rejections of the bill by the Senate. The second rejection occurred in the session as the first, or the subsequent session. There is no provision for resolving deadlocks with respect to bills that have originated in the Senate and are blocked in the House of Representatives. However, as the 1975 constitutional crisis demonstrated, the Governor-General is not compelled to follow the Prime Ministers advice. In these cases, he or she must be satisfied that the conditions specified in the Constitution apply. As a High Court Chief Justice Barwick observed in a decision in Cormack v Cope, There have been 7 double dissolutions. However, a joint sitting following a double dissolution pursuant to section 57 has only taken place once, in 1914, the Joseph Cook Commonwealth Liberal Party sought to abolish preferential employment for trade union members in the public service, resulting in a double dissolution on 30 July 1914. In the election on 5 September 1914 the government was defeated by the opposition, Andrew Fishers Australian Labor Party, the repeal was opposed by the Labor Party in the Senate. Parliament was dissolved on 19 March 1951, in the election on 28 April 1951, the government was returned with a reduced majority in the lower house, but now with a majority in the Senate. The Commonwealth Bank Bill was presented to Parliament again on 26 June 1951, in 1974, the Gough Whitlam Labor government was unable to pass a large number of bills through a hostile Senate

9.
Australian House of Representatives
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The Australian House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Australia. It is referred to as the house, with the Senate being referred to as the upper house. The House is almost always dissolved earlier, usually alone but sometimes in a double dissolution of both Houses, a member of the House may be referred to as a Member of Parliament, while a member of the Senate is usually referred to as a Senator. The government of the day and by extension the Prime Minister must achieve, the House of Representatives currently consists of 150 members, elected by and representing single member districts, known as electoral divisions. The number of members is not fixed, but can vary with boundary changes resulting from electoral redistributions, the most recent overall increase in the size of the House, which came into effect at the 1984 election, increased the number of members from 125 to 148. It reduced to 147 at the 1993 election, returned to 148 at the 1996 election, each division elects one member using full-preference Instant-runoff voting. This was put in place after the 1918 Swan by-election, which Labor unexpectedly won with the largest primary vote, the Nationalist government of the time changed the lower house voting system from first-past-the-post to full-preference preferential voting, effective from the 1919 general election. This system has remained in place since, allowing the Coalition parties to safely contest the same seats, the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act of 1900 established the House of Representatives as part of the new system of dominion government in newly federated Australia. The House is presided over by the Speaker, Members of the House are elected from single member electorates. One vote one value legislation requires all electorates to have approximately the number of voters with a maximum 10% variation. However, the quota for the number of voters in an electorate is determined by the number of voters in the state in which that electorate is found. Meanwhile, all the states except Tasmania have electorates approximately within the same 10% tolerance, voting is by the preferential system, also known as instant-runoff voting. A full allocation of preferences is required for a vote to be considered formal and this allows for a calculation of the two-party-preferred vote. Under Section 24 of the Constitution, each state is entitled to members based on a quota determined from the latest statistics of the Commonwealth. These statistics arise from the census conducted under the auspices of section 51, the parliamentary entitlement of a state or territory is established by the Electoral Commissioner dividing the number of the people of the Commonwealth by twice the number of Senators. This is known as the Nexus Provision, the reasons for this are twofold, to maintain a constant influence for the smaller states and to maintain a constant balance of the two Houses in case of a joint sitting after a double dissolution. The population of state and territory is then divided by this quota to determine the number of members to which each state. Under the Australian Constitution all original states are guaranteed at least five members, the Federal Parliament itself has decided that the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory should have at least one member each

Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
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Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
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House of Representatives' entrance
Australian House of Representatives
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Inside the House of Representatives

10.
Australian Senate
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The Australian Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter I, there are a total of 76 senators,12 senators are elected from each of the six states and two from each of the two autonomous internal territories. Senators are popularly elected under the single vote system of proportional representation. As a result of proportional representation, the features a multitude of parties vying for power. Senators normally serve fixed terms, unless the Senate is dissolved earlier in a double dissolution. Following a double half the state senators serve terms ending on the third 30 June following the election with the rest serving three years longer. The term of the territory senators expires at the time as there is an election for the House of Representatives. The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act of 1900 established the Senate as part of the new system of government in newly federated Australia. From a comparative perspective, the Australian Senate exhibits distinctive characteristics. Unlike upper Houses in other Westminster system governments, the Senate is not a body with limited legislative power. Rather it was intended to play – and does play – an active role in legislation, the Constitution intended to give less populous states added voice in a Federal legislature, while also providing for the revising role of an upper house in the Westminster system. In practice, however, most legislation in the Australian Parliament is initiated by the Government and it is then passed to the Senate, which has the opportunity to amend the bill or refuse to pass it. In the majority of cases, voting takes place along party lines, since 2015, armed officers of the Australian Federal Police have been placed on duty to protect both chambers of the Federal Parliament. The system for electing senators has changed several times since Federation, the original arrangement involved a first-past-the-post block voting or winner takes all system, on a state-by-state basis. This was replaced in 1919 by preferential block voting, block voting tended to produce landslide majorities and even wipe-outs. For instance, from 1920 to 1923 the Nationalist Party of Australia had 35 of the 36 senators, and from 1947 to 1950, the Australian Labor Party had 33 of the 36 senators. From the 1984 election, group ticket voting was introduced in order to reduce a high rate of voting that arose from the requirement that each candidate be given a preference. As a result of the changes, voters may assign their preferences for parties above the line, or individual candidates below the line, both above and below the line voting now use optional preferential voting

Australian Senate
Australian Senate
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Australian Senate
Australian Senate
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Entrance to the Senate

11.
Joint Sitting of the Australian Parliament of 1974
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A joint sitting of the Australian parliament was convened in 1974, in which members of the Senate and House of Representatives sat together as a single legislative body.57 had been met. All proceedings of the joint sitting were broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Commission and this would be the first Australian television coverage of parliamentary debates. In early 1974, the parties led by Billy Snedden had chosen to use their majority in the Senate to oppose key government legislation. As the Senate had rejected the bills twice, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam advised a double dissolution under section 57 of the Constitution, the Governor-General Sir Paul Hasluck agreed, and on 18 May an election for both houses of parliament was held. Campaigning for the Labor Party, Whitlam asked the electorate to let him finish the job, the Liberal and Country parties focused their campaign on government mismanagement and the state of the economy. The Labor Party was returned with a reduced majority in the House of Representatives and, crucially. The new parliament convened on 9 July, on 11 July, Sir Paul Haslucks term as Governor-General ended, and Sir John Kerr was sworn in. The legislation was reintroduced, but, as expected, it failed to pass the Senate. Now, all the requirements for a joint sitting had been met. At Whitlams request, on 30 July Sir John Kerr issued a proclamation convening the joint sitting, the coalition parties sought to prevent the joint sitting by challenging its constitutional validity in the High Court. The writs were issued by Senator Sir Magnus Cormack and Senator Jim Webster on 1 August, the Queensland government also brought an action, although it sought a narrower declaration. The court delivered a decision on 5 August 1974 and ruled that the sitting was constitutionally valid. The joint sitting of all 187 members of Parliament was held two days, on 6 and 7 August 1974. The House of Representatives chamber was chosen as the venue for the sitting, as well as the lower house holding a bigger seating capacity than the Senate, Whitlam said it was the peoples House, the House where alone governments are made and unmade. Speaker Jim Cope assumed the chair, his had been the only nomination, Whitlam further commented that at long last, after sustained stonewalling and filibustering, the parliament can proceed to enact these essential parts of the governments program. Snedden, on the hand, was more cynical, stating this is indeed an historic occasion. So many people have described it as such one is convinced it must be. Given the importance of the occasion, both sides of politics showed behaviour and restraint, the Coalition continued to oppose the legislation but the Labor majority in the House was such that it had an overall majority in the Parliament, and all the legislation was able to pass easily

Joint Sitting of the Australian Parliament of 1974
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All 187 federal MPs at the 1974 joint sitting

12.
Gough Whitlam
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Edward Gough Whitlam AC QC was the 21st Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The Leader of the Labor Party from 1967 to 1977, Whitlam led his party to power for the first time in 23 years at the 1972 election. He won the 1974 election before being dismissed by the Governor-General of Australia, Sir John Kerr. Whitlam remains the only Australian prime minister to have his commission terminated in that manner, Whitlam served in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II for four years as airforce navigator in the Pacific and worked as a barrister following the war. He was first elected to Parliament in 1952, representing Werriwa in the House of Representatives, Whitlam became Deputy Leader of the Labor Party in 1960, and in 1967, after the retirement of Arthur Calwell, was elected Leader and became the Leader of the Opposition. After narrowly losing the 1969 election, Whitlam led Labor to victory at the 1972 election after 23 years of continuous Liberal-Country Coalition Government. The government and the opposition then had equal numbers in the Senate where they voted against the six trigger bills which had formed the basis for the 1974 double dissolution. The Whitlam government then instituted the first and only 1974 joint sitting enabled under s.57 of the Constitution as part of the dissolution process. All six of the bills were then passed at the Joint Sitting in August 1974. Whitlam refused to back down, arguing that his government, which held a majority in the House of Representatives, was being held to ransom by the Senate. The crisis ended on 11 November, when Whitlam arrived at a meeting with the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr. Kerr had agreed to the documents and the date for the half-Senate election—13 December—with Whitlam over the preceding days. Whitlam described it as the greatest shock I had ever experienced when Kerr instead dismissed him without warning and commissioned the opposition leader, Malcolm Fraser, as prime minister. Later that afternoon, the House of Representatives passed a motion of no confidence in Fraser, Kerr refused to see the Speaker of the House or receive the motion of the House of Representatives and prorogued parliament with Fraser still in office. Labor lost the subsequent election by a landslide, Whitlam stepped down after losing again at the 1977 election, and retired from parliament in 1978. Upon the election of the Hawke Government in 1983, he was appointed as Ambassador to UNESCO, a position he filled with distinction and he remained active into his nineties. The circumstances of his dismissal and the legacy of his government remain a part of Australian political discourse. Edward Gough Whitlam was born on 11 July 1916 at the family home Ngara,46 Rowland Street, Kew and he was the older of two children born to Martha and Fred Whitlam

13.
Australian Labor Party
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The Australian Labor Party is a political party in Australia. The party has been in opposition at federal level since the 2013 election, Bill Shorten has been the partys federal parliamentary leader since 13 October 2013. The party is a party with branches in each state. Labor is in government in the states of Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, the party competes against the Liberal/National Coalition for political office at the federal and state levels. Labors current National Platform describes the party as a social democratic party, the party of opportunity and security for working people. The ALP was not founded as a party until after the first sitting of the Australian Parliament in 1901. Nevertheless, it is regarded as descended from labour parties founded in the various Australian colonies by the labour movement in Australia. Labor is thus the countrys oldest political party, colonial labour parties contested seats from 1891, and federal seats following Federation at the 1901 federal election. Labor was the first party in Australia to win a majority in either house of the Australian Parliament, internationally, the ALP is a member of the Progressive Alliance network of social-democratic parties, having previously been a member of the Socialist International. The Australian Labor Party has its origins in the Labour parties founded in the 1890s in the Australian colonies prior to federation, Labor tradition ascribes the founding of Queensland Labour to a meeting of striking pastoral workers under a ghost gum tree in Barcaldine, Queensland in 1891. The Balmain, New South Wales branch of the party claims to be the oldest in Australia, Labour as a parliamentary party dates from 1891 in New South Wales and South Australia,1893 in Queensland, and later in the other colonies. The first election contested by Labour candidates was the 1891 New South Wales election, the major parties were the Protectionist and Free Trade parties and Labour held the balance of power. It offered parliamentary support in exchange for policy concessions, the United Labor Party of South Australia was founded in 1891, and three candidates were that year elected to the South Australian Legislative Council. The first successful South Australian House of Assembly candidate was John McPherson at the 1892 East Adelaide by-election, at the 1893 South Australian elections the ULP was immediately elevated to balance of power status with 10 of 54 lower house seats. The liberal government of Charles Kingston was formed with the support of the ULP, so successful, less than a decade later at the 1905 election, Thomas Price would form the worlds first stable Labor government. John Verran led Labor to form the states first of many majority governments at the 1910 election, in 1899, Anderson Dawson formed a minority Labour government in Queensland, the first in the world, which lasted one week while the conservatives regrouped after a split. The colonial Labour parties and the unions were mixed in their support for the Federation of Australia. They feared that federation would further entrench the power of the conservative forces, the first Labour leader and Prime Minister, Chris Watson, however, was a supporter of federation

Australian Labor Party
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Bill Shorten, Labor leader 2013–present
Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
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Chris Watson, first leader of then Federal Labour Party 1901–07 (held the balance of power) and Prime Minister in 1904
Australian Labor Party
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Andrew Fisher, Prime Minister 1908–09, 1910–13, 1914–15

14.
Single transferable vote
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The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through ranked voting in multi-seat organizations or constituencies. The exact method of reapportioning votes can vary, Hare–Clark is the name given to STV in lower house elections in two Australian states and territories, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory. The name is derived from Thomas Hare, who developed the system, and the Tasmanian Attorney General, Andrew Inglis Clark, Hare–Clark has been changed to use rotating ballot papers. Although the New South Wales Legislative Council and the Senate have reformed their electoral systems to abolish group tickets, STV is the system of choice of groups such as the Proportional Representation Society of Australia, the Electoral Reform Society in the United Kingdom and FairVote in the USA. STV has had its widest adoption in the English-speaking world, as of 2010, in government elections, STV is used for, In British Columbia, Canada, STV was recommended for provincial elections by the BC Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform. In a 2005 provincial referendum, it received 57. 69% support and it was not adopted, however, because it fell short of the 60% threshold requirement the Liberal government had set for the referendum to be binding. For a more complete list, see History and use of the single transferable vote, when STV is used for single-winner elections, it is equivalent to the instant-runoff voting method. STV used for elections is sometimes called proportional representation through the single transferable vote. STV usually refers to the version, as it does in this article. In Australia STV is known as the Hare–Clark Proportional method, while in the United States it is called choice voting. In STV, each voter ranks the list of candidates in order of preference, in the most common ballot design, they place a 1 beside their most preferred candidate, a 2 beside their second most preferred, and so on. The completed ballot paper contains an ordinal list of candidates. The Droop quota is an extension of requiring a 50% +1 majority in single-winner elections, for example, at most 3 people can have 25% +1 in 3-winner elections,9 can have 10% +1 in 9-winner elections, and so on. If fractional votes can be submitted, then the Droop quota may be modified so that the fraction is not rounded down, thus the quota is a positive but not necessarily an integer value. An STV election starts with every voters first choice, according to the following steps, if any such elected candidate has more votes than the quota, the excess votes are transferred to other candidates. Votes that would have gone to the go to the next preference. This can be done in several ways, if no-one new meets the quota, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and those votes are transferred to each voters next preferred candidate. This process repeats until either a winner is found for every seat or there are as many seats as remaining candidates, there are variations, such as how to transfer surplus votes from winning candidates and whether to transfer votes to already-elected candidates

Single transferable vote
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Carl Andræ

15.
Federal Assembly (Austria)
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The Federal Assembly is the name given to a formal joint session of the two houses of the bicameral Austrian Parliament, the National Council and the Federal Council. It is chaired by the presidents of the two parliamentary chambers taking turns presiding over its sessions, since 1945, the assembly has only met to swear the elected President of Austria into office. While during the pre-war First Austrian Republic, the Assembly convened to elect the Austrian president and this provision however did not become effective until 1951, when Theodor Körner became the first president directly elected by the Austrian people. Since then, the responsibility is to convene for the ceremonial swearing-in of the president. It recently met at the inauguration of Heinz Fischers second term as Austrian President on 8 July 2010, the assent of the Assembly would also be required for the presidents immunity against criminal prosecution to be withdrawn. Furthermore, it is responsible for declaring war. Neither of these powers, however, has so far been exercised

Federal Assembly (Austria)
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Assembly hall of the former Imperial Council House of Representatives, venue of the Federal Assembly
Federal Assembly (Austria)
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Austria
Federal Assembly (Austria)
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Assembly Hall of the venue of the Federal Assembly

16.
Austrian Parliament
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The Austrian Parliament is the bicameral legislature in Austria. It consists of two chambers, the National Council and the Federal Council, in specific cases, both houses convene as the Federal Assembly. The legislature meets in the Austrian Parliament Building in Vienna, the National Council is composed of 183 members elected through proportional representation in a general election. The legislative period lasts five years, elections are held if the National Council prematurely moves for its own dissolution. The National Council is the dominant house in the Austrian Parliament, the Federal Council is elected indirectly, through the provincial assemblies of the nine States of the Federal Republic, and reflects the distribution of seats in the Austrian Landtage. The states are represented in the Federal Council roughly in accordance to the size of their populations, seats are redistributed among the states following each general census, and the overall size of the chamber varies slightly as a result. The current Federal Council is composed of 61 delegates, with regard to most issues, the Federal Council only possesses a dilatory right of veto which can be overridden by the National Council. However, the Federal Council enjoys absolute veto powers over bills intended to alter the powers of either the states, the Federal Assembly is a body whose function is mostly ceremonial in nature, and consists of the members of both houses of Parliament. The Federal Assembly convenes only rarely, for instance to witness the inauguration of the Federal President and it might be noted, however, that under exceptional circumstances the Austrian constitution endows the Federal Assembly with significant responsibilities. An example of this would be its pivotal role in the impeachment of a Federal President. Both houses of Parliament, as well as the Federal Assembly, constitution of Austria Austrian Parliament Building Imperial Council Imperial Diet The Austrian Parliament - Official Homepage

17.
Belgian Federal Parliament
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The Belgian Federal Parliament is the bicameral parliament of Belgium. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate and it sits in the Palace of the Nation. The Chamber of Representatives is the legislative body, the Senate functions only as a meeting place of the federal communities. The Chamber of Representatives holds its meetings in the Palace of the Nation. Eligibility requirements for the Chamber are a minimum age of 21, citizenship, the number of seats in the Chamber is constitutionally set at 150 elected from 11 electoral districts. The districts are divided along lines,5 Flemish,5 Walloon. The districts are the provinces, except for the districts of Leuven, each district is given a number of seats proportional to its population ranging from 4 for Luxembourg to 24 for Antwerp. 7 with language facilities for French-speakers, the current composition was elected at the federal elections of 2014. Since 2014, the Senate consists of 60 members, there are two categories of senators, co-opted senators and senators of community and regional parliaments. The 10 other senators are co-opted, elected by the 50 other senators, eligibility requirements for the Senate are identical to those for the Chamber. Before 2014, the Senate consisted of 71 senators, only 21 of which were elected by the community parliaments,25 were directly elected by the Flemish constituency and 15 by the French-speaking constituency. The last direct election of these 40 members occurred in the 2010 federal elections, the 2014 elections are the first one with the reformed Senate. The President of the Senate is Christine Defraigne as of 2014, the Senate holds its plenary meetings in the Palace of the Nation, Brussels. In certain matters both Chambers have equal power, in this case, the mandatory bicameral procedure applies, which means that both Chambers must pass exactly the same version of the bill. For most other legislation, the Chamber of Representatives takes precedence over the Senate and this means that the Senate may still intervene as a chamber of consideration and reflection. It has the opportunity to, within specific time limits, examine the bills adopted by the Chamber of Representatives and, if there is a reason to do so, the Chamber may subsequently adopt or reject the amendments proposed by the Senate or make new proposals. The Senate can also submit a bill it has adopted to the Chamber, whatever the case, the Chamber has the final word. The one-chamber procedure applies in cases where the Chamber of Representatives has the power to legislate

18.
Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)
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The Chamber of Representatives is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered to be the house of the Federal Parliament. Article 62 of the Belgian Constitution fixes the number of seats in the Chamber of Representatives at 150, there are 11 electoral districts, which correspond with the ten Provinces and the Brussels-Capital Region. The seats are divided among the parties using the DHondt method of proportional representation. There is a threshold of 5%. The Representatives are divided into two so-called language groups, for the representatives from the Brussels region, the language in which they take their oath as a representative determines which language group they belong to. Following the 2007 federal election, the Chamber has a German-speaking member for the first time since 1999, nevertheless, because of the Belgian constitution, both linguistic communities are granted equal powers in the parliament. Although in general bills can be passed without a majority in both groups, bills relating to specific issues can not and need the consent of both language groups. The following table shows the current distribution of seats between the groups and the electoral districts. A representative can only enter into office after having taken the oath of office and he or she can also choose to take the oath in more than one language. The oath of office is as follows, I swear to observe the Constitution, certain offices are incompatible with the office of representative. The same applies the other way around as well, a representative who takes the oath of office in a regional or community parliament automatically ceases to be a representative. A member of the Chamber of Representatives may not also be a member of the Senate at the same time, another important incompatibility is based on the separation of powers. It is also not possible to be a member of the Federal Parliament, the Chamber of Representatives elects a presiding officer, known as the president, at the beginning of each parliamentary term, which starts on the second Tuesday of October each year. The President is customarily a member of one of the forming the government coalition. The first vice-president is usually a member of the language group than that of the President. The current President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives is Siegfried Bracke of the New Flemish Alliance, to this end, he or she is given considerable powers. He or she represents the Chamber at both the national and the international level

Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)
Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)
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Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers (Dutch)
Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)
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The Palace of the Nation in Brussels, home to both Chambers of the Federal Parliament of Belgium

19.
Senate (Belgium)
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The Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the house of the Federal Parliament. The 2014 elections were the first ones without an election of senators. Instead, the new Senate is completely composed of members of community and regional parliaments and it is a chamber of the communities and regions and serves as a platform for discussion and reflection about matters between the different language communities. The Senate now only plays a minor role in the federal legislative process. Since the reform, it holds about ten plenary sessions a year. After the Belgian Revolution, the National Congress decided about the Belgian Constitution, a bicameral Parliament was chosen over a unicameral one, due to fears of more democratic and progressive decisions in the Chamber of Representatives, as was seen in France. Thus the Senate served as a conservative and elite body. To be eligible, one had to pay 1000 francs, which meant that at that time, the Flemish nationalist party New Flemish Alliance, among other Flemish parties, said in 2010 that they want to abolish the Senate. The French-speaking parties, however, want to keep the Senate, since the sixth state reform, the Senate consists of 60 members. 50 are elected by the community and regional parliaments, and 10 are co-opted members, prior to the Belgian federal election of May 21,1995, there were 184 elected senators. The change took effect following the May 21,1995 federal election, of the total of 71 elected senators,40 were elected directly,21 appointed by the community parliaments and 10 senators were co-opted. The overall distribution of seats between parties was determined by the results of the direct election. The sixth state reform, taking effect on the May 25,2014 election, reduced the number of senators from 71 to 60, the German-speaking senator is chosen by plurality, the other Senate seats are distributed based on the results for the Chamber of Representatives election. These Community senators hold a double mandate and they are appointed to the Senate for a term of 4 years, but as the Community parliaments are renewed every 5 years, it is possible that regional elections take place during these 4 years. Ten Senators are co-opted, meaning they are elected by their peers, six by the Dutch-language group and these seats are distributed between parties using the direct election results. In 1893, the members were included in the Constitution as a new category of Senators. Until the elections of 25 May 2014, the Senate contained 40 directly elected members, to elect these members, the electorate was divided into two electoral colleges, a Dutch and a French electoral college

Senate (Belgium)
Senate (Belgium)
Senate (Belgium)
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The Palace of the Nation in Brussels, home to both Chambers of the Federal Parliament of Belgium
Senate (Belgium)
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Seat of the presiding officers of the senate

20.
Dutch language
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It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after English and German. Dutch is one of the closest relatives of both German and English and is said to be roughly in between them, Dutch vocabulary is mostly Germanic and incorporates more Romance loans than German but far fewer than English. In both Belgium and the Netherlands, the official name for Dutch is Nederlands, and its dialects have their own names, e. g. Hollands, West-Vlaams. The use of the word Vlaams to describe Standard Dutch for the variations prevalent in Flanders and used there, however, is common in the Netherlands, the Dutch language has been known under a variety of names. It derived from the Old Germanic word theudisk, one of the first names used for the non-Romance languages of Western Europe. It literarily means the language of the people, that is. The term was used as opposed to Latin, the language of writing. In the first text in which it is found, dating from 784, later, theudisca appeared also in the Oaths of Strasbourg to refer to the Germanic portion of the oath. This led inevitably to confusion since similar terms referred to different languages, owing to Dutch commercial and colonial rivalry in the 16th and 17th centuries, the English term came to refer exclusively to the Dutch. A notable exception is Pennsylvania Dutch, which is a West Central German variety called Deitsch by its speakers, Jersey Dutch, on the other hand, as spoken until the 1950s in New Jersey, is a Dutch-based creole. In Dutch itself, Diets went out of common use - although Platdiets is still used for the transitional Limburgish-Ripuarian Low Dietsch dialects in northeast Belgium, Nederlands, the official Dutch word for Dutch, did not become firmly established until the 19th century. This designation had been in use as far back as the end of the 15th century, one of them was it reflected a distinction with Hoogduits, High Dutch, meaning the language spoken in Germany. The Hoog was later dropped, and thus, Duits narrowed down in meaning to refer to the German language. g, in English, too, Netherlandic is regarded as a more accurate term for the Dutch language, but is hardly ever used. Old Dutch branched off more or less around the same time Old English, Old High German, Old Frisian and Old Saxon did. During that period, it forced Old Frisian back from the western coast to the north of the Low Countries, on the other hand, Dutch has been replaced in adjacent lands in nowadays France and Germany. The division in Old, Middle and Modern Dutch is mostly conventional, one of the few moments linguists can detect somewhat of a revolution is when the Dutch standard language emerged and quickly established itself. This is assumed to have taken place in approximately the mid-first millennium BCE in the pre-Roman Northern European Iron Age, the Germanic languages are traditionally divided into three groups, East, West, and North Germanic. They remained mutually intelligible throughout the Migration Period, Dutch is part of the West Germanic group, which also includes English, Scots, Frisian, Low German and High German

Dutch language
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The Utrecht baptismal vow Forsachistu diobolae...
Dutch language
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Distribution of the Dutch language and its dialects in Western Europe
Dutch language
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Second edition of this column decorated with a title of Charles V 's portrait, with archaic Dutch inscriptions
Dutch language
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Dutch language street sign in the Netherlands

21.
French language
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French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth

French language
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The "arrêt" signs (French for "stop") are used in Canada while the international stop, which is also a valid French word, is used in France as well as other French-speaking countries and regions.
French language
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Regions where French is the main language
French language
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Town sign in Standard Arabic and French at the entrance of Rechmaya in Lebanon.
French language
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An obsolete 100 Lebanese pound note with the French language inscriptions "Banque du Liban" and "Cent livres".

22.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form

23.
Monarchy of Belgium
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The monarchy of Belgium is a constitutional, popular and hereditary monarchy whose incumbent is titled the King or Queen of the Belgians and serves as the countrys head of state. There have been seven Belgian monarchs since independence in 1830, the incumbent, Philippe, ascended the throne on 21 July 2013, following the abdication of his father. When Belgium became independent in 1830 the National Congress chose a constitutional monarchy as the form of government, the Congress voted on the question on 22 November 1830, supporting monarchy by 174 votes to 13. Following this refusal, the National Congress appointed Erasme-Louis, Baron Surlet de Chokier to be the Regent of Belgium on 25 February 1831 and this day has since become a national holiday for Belgium and its citizens. As a hereditary constitutional monarchy system, the role and operation of Belgiums monarchy is governed by the Constitution, the royal office of King is designated solely for a descendant of the first King of the Belgians, Leopold I. Since he is bound by the Constitution the King is intended to act as an arbiter and guardian of Belgian national unity, Belgiums monarchs are inaugurated in a purely civil swearing-in ceremony. The Kingdom of Belgium was never an absolute monarchy, nevertheless, in 1961, the historian Ramon Arango, wrote that the Belgian monarchy is not truly constitutional. King Leopold I was head of Foreign Affairs as an ancien régime monarch, millions of Congolese were killed as a result of Leopolds policies in the Congo. On several occasions Leopold II publicly expressed disagreement with ruling government and was accused by Yvon Gouet of noncompliance with the parliamentary system. In a similar manner, Albert I of Belgium would later state that he was in command of the Belgian army contrary to his Prime Minister Charles de Broqueville, Louis Wodon, thought the Kings oath to the Constitution implied a royal position over and above the Constitution. The family is, of course, an institution as is the state. But what would a family be where everything was limited among those who compose it to simply legal relationships. For Raymond Fusilier, the Belgian monarchy had to be placed - at least in the beginning - between the regimes where the rules and those in which the king does not rule. The Belgian monarchy is closer to the principle the King does not rule But the Belgian kings were not only at the head of the part of the Constitution. For Francis Delpérée, to reign does not only mean to preside over ceremonies, the Belgian historian Jean Stengers wrote that some foreigners believe the monarchy is indispensable to national unity. He is only a piece on the chessboard, but a piece which matters, to date all have belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. This is a tree of the Kings of the Belgians, hereditary. Dutch monarchs family tree The proper title of the Belgian monarch is King of the Belgians rather than King of Belgium, the title indicates a popular monarchy linked to the people of Belgium, whereas King of Belgium would indicate standard constitutional or absolute monarchy linked to territory or state

24.
Canadian government
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The Government of Canada or more formally Her Majestys Government, is the federal government of Canada, a country in North America, composed of 10 provinces, Ottawa, and 3 territories. The head of government is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose party the Liberal Party of Canada won the majority of seats in the Canadian Parliament in the 2015 Canadian federal election, in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council. Further elements of governance are outlined in the rest of the Canadian constitution, which includes written statutes, court rulings, in Canadian English, the word government is used to refer both to the whole set of institutions that govern the country, and to the current political leadership. In federal department press releases, the government has sometimes referred to by the phrase Government. The same cabinet earlier directed its press department to use the phrase Canadas New Government, as per the Constitution Acts of 1867 and 1982, Canada is a constitutional monarchy, wherein the role of the reigning sovereign is both legal and practical, but not political. The executive is formally called the Queen-in-Council, the legislature the Queen-in-Parliament. The government is defined by the constitution as the Queen acting on the advice of her privy council, however, the Privy Council—consisting mostly of former members of parliament, chief justices of the supreme court, and other elder statesmen—rarely meets in full. This body of ministers of the Crown is the Cabinet, one of the main duties of the Crown is to ensure that a democratic government is always in place, which means appointing a prime minister to thereafter head the Cabinet. The monarch and governor general typically follow the advice of their ministers. The royal and viceroyal figures may unilaterally use these powers in exceptional constitutional crisis situations, politicians can sometimes try to use to their favour the complexity of the relationship between the monarch, viceroy, ministers, and parliament, and the publics general unfamiliarity with it. Per democratic tradition, the House of Commons is the dominant branch of parliament, the Senate, thus, reviews legislation from a less partisan standpoint. The Constitution Act,1867, outlines that the general is responsible for summoning parliament in the Queens name. After a number of sessions, each parliament comes to an end via dissolution. As a general election typically follows, the timing of a dissolution is usually politically motivated, the sovereign is responsible for rendering justice for all her subjects, and is thus traditionally deemed the fount of justice. However, she does not personally rule in cases, instead the judicial functions of the Royal Prerogative are performed in trust. Below this is the Federal Court, which cases arising under certain areas of federal law. It works in conjunction with the Federal Court of Appeal and Tax Court of Canada, in some cases, however, the jurisdictions of the federal and provincial parliaments may be more vague. For instance, the federal parliament regulates marriage and divorce in general, other examples include the powers of both the federal and provincial parliaments to impose taxes, borrow money, punish crimes, and regulate agriculture

25.
House of Commons of Canada
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The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons chamber is located in the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the House of Commons is a democratically elected body whose members are known as Members of Parliament. There were 308 members in the last Parliament, but that number has risen to 338 following the election on Monday October 19,2015, Members are elected by simple plurality in each of the countrys electoral districts, which are colloquially known as ridings. MPs may hold office until Parliament is dissolved and serve for constitutionally limited terms of up to five years after an election, historically however, terms have ended before their expiry and the sitting government has typically dissolved parliament within four years of an election according to a long-standing convention. In any case, an Act of Parliament now limits each term to four years, seats in the House of Commons are distributed roughly in proportion to the population of each province and territory. However, some ridings are more populous than others, and the Canadian constitution contains some provisions regarding provincial representation. As a result, there is some interprovincial and regional malapportionment relative to population, the lower of the two houses making up the parliament, the House of Commons in practice holds far more power than the upper house, the Senate. Although the approval of both Houses is necessary for legislation, the Senate very rarely rejects bills passed by the Commons, moreover, the Government of Canada is responsible solely to the House of Commons. The Prime Minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support, or confidence, the term derives from the Anglo-Norman word communes, referring to the geographic and collective communities of their parliamentary representatives and not the third estate, the commonality. This distinction is clear in the official French name of the body. Canada and the United Kingdom remain the only countries to use the name House of Commons for a house of parliament. The new Parliament of Canada consisted of the Queen, the Senate, the Parliament of Canada was based on the Westminster model. Unlike the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the powers of the Parliament of Canada were limited in that other powers were assigned exclusively to the provincial legislatures, the Parliament of Canada also remained subordinate to the British Parliament, the supreme legislative authority for the entire British Empire. Greater autonomy was granted by the Statute of Westminster 1931, after which new Acts of the British Parliament did not apply to Canada and these exceptions were removed by the Canada Act 1982. From 1867, the Commons met in the chamber until that was destroyed by fire in 1916. It relocated to the amphitheatre of the Victoria Memorial Museum—what is today the Canadian Museum of Nature, since then, the Commons has sat in its current chamber. The House of Commons comprises 338 members, each of whom represents a electoral district. The constitution specifies a minimum of 295 electoral districts

House of Commons of Canada
House of Commons of Canada
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The Canadian House of Commons, 1916
House of Commons of Canada
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The main doorway into the chamber of the House of Commons
House of Commons of Canada
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The chamber of the House of Commons; the Speaker's chair is at the rear and centre in the room.

26.
Senate of Canada
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The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons and the Monarch. The Senate is modelled after the British House of Lords and consists of 105 members appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister, Senators may serve until they reach the age of 75. The Senate is the house of Parliament and the House of Commons is the lower house. As a matter of practice and custom, the Commons is the dominant chamber, the approval of both chambers is necessary for legislation and, thus, the Senate can reject bills passed by the Commons. Between 1867 and 1987, the Senate rejected fewer than two bills per year, but this has increased in recent years. Moreover, members of the Cabinet are responsible solely to the House of Commons, while the prime minister and the rest of Cabinet remain in office only while they retain the confidence of the Commons, Senators are not beholden to such control. The Senate of Canada and the House of Commons of Canada sit in separate chambers in the Centre Block on Parliament Hill, located in Ottawa, Ontario. The chamber in which the Senate sits is called the red chamber, due to the red cloth that adorns the chamber. The red Senate chamber is decorated, in contrast with the more modest. There are chairs and desks on both sides of the chamber, divided by a centre aisle, the Speakers chair is at one end of the chamber, in front of it is the Clerks table. Various clerks sit at the table, ready to advise the Speaker, Members of the governing party sit on the benches to the Speakers right, while members of the Opposition occupy the benches on the Speakers left. The seat has the coat of arms of the Princess Louise The first two seats are vacant but present during the sitting of the Senate. The Speaker of the Senate uses the third seat with the Arms of Canada and this seat is removed during the throne speech. At either end of the chamber, on the floor, are the visitors galleries. The north gallerys lower seating area, or tribune, is reserved for journalists, the Governor General holds the power to make normal senatorial appointments, although, in modern practice, they make appointments only on the advice of the prime minister. A prime minister normally chooses members of his or her own party to be Senators, in practice, a large number of the members of the Senate are ex-Cabinet ministers, ex-provincial premiers, and other eminent people. The first Aboriginal senator was James Gladstone, who sat as an Independent Conservative, under the constitution, each province or territory is entitled to a specific number of Senate seats. The constitution divides Canada into four areas, each with an number of senators,24 for Ontario,24 for Quebec,24 for the Maritime provinces

Senate of Canada
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Senate of Canada Sénat du Canada
Senate of Canada
Senate of Canada
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The Senate Chamber of Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
Senate of Canada
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The throne and chair in the background are used by the Queen and her consort, or the Governor General and his or her spouse, respectively, during the opening of Parliament. The Speaker of the Senate employs the chair in front.

27.
Parliament of Canada
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The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa, Ontario. The body consists of the Canadian monarch, represented by a viceroy, the general, an upper house, the Senate, and a lower house. Each element has its own officers and organization, by constitutional convention, the House of Commons is the dominant branch of parliament, the Senate and Crown rarely opposing its will. The Senate reviews legislation from a less partisan standpoint and the monarch or viceroy provides the necessary Royal Assent to make bills into law. The governor general also summons parliament, while either the viceroy or monarch can prorogue or dissolve parliament, either will read the Throne Speech. The most recent parliament, summoned by Governor General David Johnston in 2015, is the 42nd since Confederation in 1867, the Parliament of Canada is composed of three parts, the monarch, the Senate, and the House of Commons. Each has a role, but work in conjunction within the legislative process. Only those who sit in the House of Commons are called members of parliament, though legislatively less powerful, senators take higher positions in the national order of precedence. No individual may serve in more than one chamber of parliament at the same time, the sovereigns place in the legislature, formally called the Queen-in-Parliament, is defined by the Constitution Act,1867, and various conventions. All federal bills begin with the phrase Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada. And, as such, the Crown is immune from acts of parliament unless expressed otherwise in the act itself. As both the monarch and his or her representatives are traditionally barred from the House of Commons, any parliamentary ceremonies in which they are involved take place in the Senate chamber. The upper and lower houses do, however, each contain a mace, which indicate the authority of the Queen-in-Parliament, following the burning of the Centre Block on 3 February 1916, the City of London, England, donated a replacement, which is still used today. The temporary mace, made of wood, and used until the new one arrived from the United Kingdom in 1917, is carried into the Senate each 3 February. The Senates 1. 6-metre-long mace comprises brass and gold, senators served for life until 1965, when a constitutional amendment imposed a mandatory retirement age of 75. Senators may, however, resign their seats prior to that mark, the Senate is divided equally amongst four geographic regions,24 for Ontario,24 for Quebec,24 for the Maritimes, and 24 for the Western provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador, which became a Canadian province in 1949, is represented by six senators, further, Canadas three territories—the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut—are allocated one senator each. The elected component of the Canadian parliament is the House of Commons, with each member chosen by a plurality of voters in each of the countrys federal electoral districts

28.
Non-governmental organization
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A non-governmental organization is a not-for-profit organization that is independent from states and international governmental organizations. They are usually funded by donations but some avoid formal funding altogether and are run primarily by volunteers, NGOs are highly diverse groups of organizations engaged in a wide range of activities, and take different forms in different parts of the world. Some may have charitable status, while others may be registered for tax exemption based on recognition of social purposes, others may be fronts for political, religious, or other interests. The number of NGOs worldwide is estimated to be 3.7 million, India is estimated to have had around 2 million NGOs in 2009, just over one NGO per 600 Indians, and many times the number of primary schools and primary health centres in India. China is estimated to have approximately 440,000 officially registered NGOs, NGOs are difficult to define, and the term NGO is not always used consistently. In some countries the term NGO is applied to an organization that in another country would be called an NPO, there are many different classifications of NGO in use. The most common focus is on orientation and level of operation, an NGOs orientation refers to the type of activities it takes on. These activities might include human rights, environmental, improving health, an NGOs level of operation indicates the scale at which an organization works, such as local, regional, national, or international. The term non-governmental organization was first coined in 1945, when the United Nations was created, later the term became used more widely. One characteristic these diverse organizations share is that their non-profit status means they are not hindered by short-term financial objectives. Accordingly, they are able to devote themselves to issues which occur across longer time horizons, such as change, malaria prevention. Public surveys reveal that NGOs often enjoy a degree of public trust. NGO/GRO types can be understood by their orientation and level of how they operate, charitable orientation often involves a top-down paternalistic effort with little participation by the beneficiaries. It includes NGOs with activities directed toward meeting the needs of the poor people, in the classical community development project, participation begins with the need definition and continues into the planning and implementation stages. There is maximum involvement of the beneficiaries with NGOs acting as facilitators, community-based organizations arise out of peoples own initiatives. They can be responsible for raising the consciousness of the poor, helping them to understand their rights in accessing needed services. City-wide organizations include organizations such as chambers of commerce and industry, coalitions of business, ethnic or educational groups, national NGOs include national organizations such as the YMCAs/YWCAs, professional associations and similar groups. Some have state and city branches and assist local NGOs and they can be responsible for funding local NGOs, institutions and projects and implementing projects

29.
Stakeholder (corporate)
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The theory was later developed and championed by R. Edward Freeman in the 1980s. Since then it has gained acceptance in business practice and in theorizing relating to strategic management, corporate governance, business purpose. A corporate stakeholder can affect or be affected by the actions of a business as a whole, any action taken by any organization or any group might affect those people who are linked with them in the private sector. For examples these are parents, children, customers, owners, employees, associates, partners, contractors, primary Stakeholders – usually internal stakeholders, are those that engage in economic transactions with the business. Secondary Stakeholders – usually external stakeholders, are those who – although they do not engage in direct economic exchange with the business – are affected by or can affect its actions. Excluded Stakeholders – those such as children or the disinterested public, now as the concept takes an anthropocentric perspective, while some groups like the general public may be recognized as stakeholders others remain excluded. Such a perspective does not give plants, animals or even geology a voice as stakeholders and this includes not only its vendors, employees, and customers, but even members of a community where its offices or factory may affect the local economy or environment. In this context, stakeholder includes not only the directors or trustees on its governing board but also all persons who paid in to the figurative stake, other stakeholders would be funders and the design-and-construction team. In that usage, constituent is a synonym for stakeholder, in the field of corporate governance and corporate responsibility, a major debate is ongoing about whether the firm or company should be managed for stakeholders, stockholders, or customers. Proponents in favour of stakeholders may base their arguments on the four key assertions. There is even evidence that the effects of such a policy are not only additive. For instance, by simultaneously addressing customer wishes in addition to employee and stockholder interests, 2) Supporters also take issue with the preeminent role given to stockholders by many business thinkers, especially in the past. The argument is that debt holders, employees, and suppliers also make contributions, 3) These normative arguments would matter little if stockholders had complete control in guiding the firm. However, many believe that due to certain kinds of board of directors structures, 4) The greatest value of a company is its image and brand. Post, Preston, Sachs, use the definition of the term stakeholder, A person. Stakeholders can affect or be affected by the actions, objectives and policies. Some examples of key stakeholders are creditors, directors, employees, government, owners, suppliers, unions, a companys customers are entitled to fair trading practices but they are not entitled to the same consideration as the companys employees. This definition differs from the definition of the term stakeholder in Stakeholder theory that also includes competitors as stakeholders of a corporation

30.
Congress of France
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Historically, during the Third and Fourth Republics, the Congress was gathered in Versailles to elect the President of France. The last president elected this way was René Coty who was elected on 23 December 1953, the Congress is composed of senators and deputies who come together in the meeting hall of the southern wing of the Château of Versailles. Its officers and its president are those of the National Assembly, the normal procedure of constitutional revision is through national referendum. However, in the case of projet de révision, the President may turn to a more flexible, the Bureau of the Congress shall be that of the National Assembly. The Congress traditionally takes place in Versailles, since the Constitutional revision of 2008, Article 18 states that the President. May take the floor before Parliament convened in Congress for this purpose and his statement may give rise, in his absence, to a debate without vote. This Congress, like the Constitutional one, is convened in Versailles, the first President to use this new Constitutional right was Nicolas Sarkozy on 22 June 2009. The previous presidential speech to Frances parliament was in 1873, before lawmakers banned the practice to protect the separation of powers, françois Hollande made a speech to Congress under this provision on 16 November 2015 regarding the November 2015 Paris attacks. The meeting of the French Congress is the occasion for the creation of a temporary post office, mail sent from this office is highly sought after by stamp collectors who often ask their senator or deputies to send them mail from the Congress. This article is based on the article Congrès du Parlement français from the French Wikipedia, Constitutional Revision on the French National Assembly website

31.
Parliament of France
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The French Parliament is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate and the National Assembly. Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at a location in Paris, the Palais du Luxembourg for the Senate. Each house has its own regulations and rules of procedure, however, they may occasionally meet as a single house, the French Congress, convened at the Palace of Versailles, to revise and amend the Constitution of France. Parliament meets for a single, nine-month session each year, under special circumstances the President can call an additional session. As a result, the government normally is from the political party as the Assembly. Rare periods during which the President is not from the political party as the Prime Minister are usually known as cohabitation. The President rather than the prime minister heads the Cabinet of Ministers, the government has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament. The government also can link its term to a text which it proposes, and unless a motion of censure is introduced and passed. However, this procedure has been limited by the 2008 constitutional amendment, Legislative initiative rests with the National Assembly. Members of Parliament enjoy parliamentary immunity, both assemblies have committees that write reports on a variety of topics. If necessary, they can establish parliamentary enquiry commissions with broad investigative power, however, the latter possibility is almost never exercised, since the majority can reject a proposition by the opposition to create an investigation commission. Since 2008, the opposition may impose the creation of a commission once a year. However, they still cant lead investigations if there is a judiciary case going on already, the word Parliament, in the modern meaning of the term, appeared in France in the 19th century, at the time of the constitutional monarchy of 1830–1848. It is never mentioned in any constitutional text until the Constitution of the 4th Republic in 1948, before that time reference was made to les Chambres or to each assembly, whatever its name, but never to a generic term as in Britain. Frank R. Baumgartner, Parliaments Capacity to Expand Political Controversy in France, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol.12,1, pp. 33–54 Marc Abélès, Un ethnologue à lAssemblée. An anthropological study of the French National Assembly, of its personnel, lawmakers, codes of behaviors, official website Site of the CHPP and of Parlement, Revue dhistoire politique

32.
Palace of Versailles
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The Palace of Versailles, Château de Versailles, or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. Versailles is therefore not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime. First built by Louis XIII in 1623, as a lodge of brick and stone. The first phase of the expansion was designed and supervised by the architect Louis Le Vau and it culminated in the addition of three new wings of stone, which surrounded Louis XIIIs original building on the north, south, and west. After Le Vaus death in 1670, the work was taken over and completed by his assistant, charles Le Brun designed and supervised the elaborate interior decoration, and André Le Nôtre landscaped the extensive Gardens of Versailles. Le Brun and Le Nôtre collaborated on the fountains, and Le Brun supervised the design. During the second phase of expansion, two enormous wings north and south of the wings flanking the Cour Royale were added by the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart. He also replaced Le Vaus large terrace, facing the garden on the west, with became the most famous room of the palace. The Royal Chapel of Versailles, located at the end of the north wing, was begun by Mansart in 1688. One of the most baffling aspects to the study of Versailles is the cost – how much Louis XIV, owing to the nature of the construction of Versailles and the evolution of the role of the palace, construction costs were essentially a private matter. Initially, Versailles was planned to be a residence for Louis XIV and was referred to as the kings house. Once Louis XIV embarked on his campaigns, expenses for Versailles became more of a matter for public record. To counter the costs of Versailles during the years of Louis XIVs personal reign. Accordingly, all materials that went into the construction and decoration of Versailles were manufactured in France, even the mirrors used in the decoration of the Hall of Mirrors were made in France. While Venice in the 17th century had the monopoly on the manufacture of mirrors, to meet the demands for decorating and furnishing Versailles, Colbert nationalised the tapestry factory owned by the Gobelin family, to become the Manufacture royale des Gobelins. In 1667, the name of the enterprise was changed to the Manufacture royale des Meubles de la Couronne, the Comptes meticulously list the expenditures on the silver furniture – disbursements to artists, final payments, delivery – as well as descriptions and weight of items purchased. Entries for 1681 and 1682 concerning the silver used in the salon de Mercure serve as an example. 5 In anticipation, For the silver balustrade for the bedroom,90,000 livres II

33.
Constitution of France
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The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, Charles de Gaulle was the main driving force in introducing the new constitution and inaugurating the Fifth Republic, while the text was drafted by Michel Debré. Since then the constitution has been amended twenty-four times, most recently in 2008 and it provides for the election of the President and the Parliament, the selection of the Government, and the powers of each and the relations between them. It ensures judicial authority and creates a High Court, a Constitutional Council, and it was designed to create a politically strong President. It enables the ratification of treaties and those associated with the European Union. It is unclear whether the wording is compatible with European Union law, the Constitution also sets out methods for its own amendment either by referendum or through a Parliamentary process with Presidential consent. However, president Charles de Gaulle bypassed the legislative procedure in 1962 and directly sent an amendment to a referendum. This was highly controversial at the time, however, the Constitutional Council ruled that since a referendum expressed the will of the sovereign people, on 21 July 2008, Parliament passed constitutional reforms championed by President Nicolas Sarkozy by a margin of two votes. Prior to 1971, though executive, administrative and judicial decisions had to comply with the principles of law. It was assumed that unelected judges and other appointees should not be able to overrule laws voted for by the directly elected French parliament, in practice, the political opposition sends all controversial laws before it. The Constitution defines in Article 89 the rules for amending itself, first, a constitutional bill must be approved by both houses of Parliament. Then, the bill must be approved by the Congress, a joint session of both houses, alternatively, the bill can be submitted to a referendum. This permitted the establishment of an elected presidency, that would otherwise have been vetoed by the Parliament. Article 11 was used for changes for the second and last time in 1969. France has had numerous past constitutions, the ancien régime was an absolute monarchy and lacked a formal constitution, the régime essentially relied on custom. Journal Officiel de la République Française, 9151–9173, lélaboration de la Constitution de la Ve République. Frédéric Monera, Lidée de République et la jurisprudence du Conseil constitutionnel – Paris, martin A. Rogoff, French Constitutional Law, Cases and Materials – Durham, North Carolina, Carolina Academic Press,2010. Texte intégral de la Constitution du 4 octobre 1958 en vigueur, Constitutional council of the French Republic

34.
President of France
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The President of the French Republic, is the executive head of state of the French Fifth Republic. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, and their relation with the prime minister, the current President of France is François Hollande, who took office on 15 May 2012. Hollande has announced that he stand down in the upcoming 2017 French presidential election. President Chirac was first elected in 1995 and again in 2002, at that time, there was no limit on the number of terms, so Chirac could have run again, but chose not to. He was succeeded by Nicolas Sarkozy on 16 May 2007, following a further change, the Constitutional law on the Modernisation of the Institutions of the Fifth Republic,2008, a president cannot serve more than two consecutive terms. François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac are the only Presidents to date who have served a two terms. In order to be admitted as a candidate, potential candidates must receive signed nominations from more than 500 elected officials. These officials must be from at least 30 départements or overseas collectivities, furthermore, each official may nominate only one candidate. There are exactly 45,543 elected officials, including 33,872 mayors, spending and financing of campaigns and political parties are highly regulated. There is a cap on spending, at approximately 20 million euros, if the candidate receives less than 5% of the vote, the government funds €8,000,000 to the party. Advertising on TV is forbidden but official time is given to candidates on public TV, an independent agency regulates election and party financing. After the president is elected, he or she goes through an investiture ceremony called a passation des pouvoirs. The French Fifth Republic is a semi-presidential system, unlike many other European presidents, the French President is quite powerful. The president holds the nations most senior office, and outranks all other politicians, the presidents greatest power is his/her ability to choose the prime minister. When the majority of the Assembly has opposite political views to that of the president, when the majority of the Assembly sides with them, the President can take a more active role and may, in effect, direct government policy. The prime minister is then the choice of the President. This device has been used in recent years by François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, since 2002, the mandate of the president and the Assembly are both 5 years and the two elections are close to each other. Therefore, the likelihood of a cohabitation is lower, among the powers of the government, The president promulgates laws

President of France
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Presidential emblem
President of France
President of France
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Incumbent François Hollande since 15 May 2012

35.
Federal Convention (Germany)
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The Federal Convention mirrors the aggregated majority situation of the Bundestag and the parliaments of the 16 German federal states. The Basic Law mandates that a maximum of three votes can be held, on the first two rounds a candidate must receive an absolute majority of delegates to be elected. After that, in the round, a plurality of all delegates voting is sufficient for election to the office of Federal President. Any delegate may nominate candidates, usually every parliamentary group puts forth candidates, the Basic Law charges the President of the Bundestag the responsibility and authority to call a meeting of the Bundesversammlung. Each member of the Bundesversammlung may suggest candidates for the office of the Federal President, in practice however only the candidates designated in advance by the parliamentary groups are suggested. The procedure of the election of the Bundespräsident consists of a maximum of three secret votes by written ballot, if one of the first two votes ends with an absolute majority for one of the candidates, this candidate is elected immediately. If the first two votes do not lead to a majority, a plurality is sufficient in the third. According to the Grundgesetz, the President is elected without a debate at the Federal Convention, the candidates are usually nominated by one or more parties, but do not generally run a campaign. The President of the Bundestag closes the session of the Bundesversammlung once the candidate accepts. The Bundesversammlung is chaired by the President of the Bundestag, the Bundesversammlung is dissolved once the elected President declares that they accept their election, which decision may be delayed for up to two days. The Länder representatives are not solely politicians and it is common that the parties nominate several notable people from television, sports and the music industry. Still most of the Länder representatives are politicians, especially those in the state cabinet are often nominated. This has changed since the resignations of former presidents Horst Koehler, the most recent assembly of the Bundesversammlung was held on 12 February 2017, after Frank-Walter Steinmeier was chosen as the single candidate of the ruling coalition in November. On 12 September 1949, the first Bundesversammlung met in Bonn, from 1954 to 1969 the Bundesversammlung was convened at the Ostpreußenhalle in Berlin, leading to protests from the German Democratic Republic on each occasion it met. As a consequence, on March 5,1969, the Soviet Union overflew the venue with MiG-21 war planes, from 1974 to 1989, the Bundesversammlung met in the Beethovenhalle in Bonn. Since 1994, the place has been the Reichstag building in Berlin. After the renovation of the Reichstag building, the German Bundestag moved to the building in April 1999, since the meeting of the Bundesversammlung held in May 1999, the body has convened in the plenary chamber of the Bundestag at the Reichstag building

36.
President of Germany
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The President of Germany, officially the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of state of Germany. Germany has a system of government in which the Chancellor is the nations leading political figure. However, the President has a role which, while not an executive post, is more than ceremonial, Presidents have extensive discretion regarding the way they exercise their official duties. The President gives direction to general political and societal debates and has some important reserve powers in case of political instability. Furthermore, all laws must be signed by the President before they can come into effect. The President, by his or her actions and public appearances, represents the state itself, its existence, its legitimacy, the Presidents office involves an integrative role and the control function of upholding the law and the constitution. In order to exercise power, he/she traditionally acts above party politics. The 12th and current officeholder is Frank-Walter Steinmeier who was elected on 12 February 2017, the convention consists of all Bundestag members as well as an equal number of electors elected by the state legislatures in proportion to their respective population. However it is not required that state electors themselves be members of a legislature, the body is convened and chaired by the President of the German Bundestag. From 1979 to 2009, all these conventions were held on 23 May, in the first two rounds of the election, the Federal Convention attempts to elect a president by an absolute majority of votes cast. If, after two votes, no candidate has received this level of support, in the third. The result of the election is determined by party politics. Usually, the candidate of the majority party or coalition in the Bundestag is considered to be the likely winner, however, if the opposition has turned in a strong showing in state elections, it can potentially have enough support to defeat the governments candidate. For this reason, presidential elections can indicate the result of a general election. According to a long-standing adage in German politics, if you can create a president, you can form a government. The office of president is open to all Germans who are entitled to vote in Bundestag elections and have reached the age of 40, but no one may serve more than two consecutive five-year terms. As yet, only four Presidents have been elected for a second term, the president must not be a member of the federal government or of a legislature at either the federal or state level. On taking office the President must take the oath, stipulated by Article 56 of the Basic Law, in a joint session of the Bundestag

President of Germany
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Incumbent Joachim Gauck since 18 March 2012
President of Germany
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Standard of the President
President of Germany
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Bellevue Palace, Berlin (primary seat)
President of Germany
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Hammerschmidt Villa, Bonn (secondary seat)

37.
Bundestag
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The Bundestag is a constitutional and legislative body at the federal level in Germany. For its similar function, it is described as a lower house of parliament along the lines of the US House of Representatives. The German constitution, however, does not define the Bundestag, since 1999 it has met in the Reichstag Building in Berlin. Norbert Lammert is the current President of the Bundestag, Members of the Bundestag are usually elected every four years by all adult German citizens in a mixed system of constituency voting and list voting. There are currently 631 seats, however, one – belonging to the CDU – remains vacant. The Election Day, however, can be if the Federal Chancellor loses a vote of no confidence. In the 19th century the name Bundestag was the designation for the assembly of the sovereigns and mayors of the Monarchies. Its seat was in the Free City of Frankfurt on the Main, two decades later, the current parliament building was erected. The Reichstag delegates were elected by direct and equal male suffrage, the Reichstag did not participate in the appointment of the Chancellor until the parliamentary reforms of October 1918. After this the Reichstag met only rarely, usually at the Krolloper following the Reichstag fire starting in 1933 to unanimously rubber-stamp the decisions of the government and it last convened on 26 April 1942. With the new constitution of 1949, the Bundestag was established as the new German parliament, the Bundeshaus in Bonn is the former Parliament Building of Germany. The sessions of the German Bundestag were held there from 1949 until its move to Berlin in 1999, today it houses the International Congress Centre Bundeshaus Bonn and in the north areas the branch office of the Bundesrat. The southern areas became part of German offices for the United Nations in 2008, the former Reichstag building housed a history exhibition and served occasionally as a conference center. The Reichstag building was occasionally used as a venue for sittings of the Bundestag and its committees and the Bundesversammlung. In 2005, an aircraft crashed close to the German parliament. It was then decided to ban private air traffic over Central Berlin, together with the Bundesrat, the Bundestag is the legislative branch of the German political system. The committees play a prominent role in this process, Plenary sessions provide a forum for members to engage in public debate on legislative issues before them, but they tend to be well attended only when significant legislation is being considered. This check on executive power can be employed through binding legislation, public debates on government policy, investigations, for example, the Bundestag can conduct a question hour, in which a government representative responds to a previously submitted written question from a member

Bundestag
Bundestag
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German Bundestag (Federal Diet) Deutscher Bundestag
Bundestag
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Reichstag building
Bundestag
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The German Unity Flag is a national memorial to German Reunification that was raised on 3 October 1990. It waves in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin, seat of the Bundestag.

38.
States of Germany
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Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen federal states. Since todays Germany was formed from a collection of several states, it has a federal constitution. The remaining 13 states are called Flächenländer, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 was through the unification of the western states created in the aftermath of World War II. West Berlin, while not part of the Federal Republic, was largely integrated and considered as a de facto state. In 1952, following a referendum, Baden, Württemberg-Baden, in 1957, the Saar Protectorate rejoined the Federal Republic as the Saarland. Federalism is one of the constitutional principles of Germany. After 1945, new states were constituted in all four zones of occupation, in 1949, the states in the three western zones formed the Federal Republic of Germany. This is in contrast to the development in Austria, where the Bund was constituted first. The use of the term Länder dates back to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, before this time, the constituent states of the German Empire were called Staaten. Today, it is common to use the term Bundesland. However, this term is not used officially, neither by the constitution of 1919 nor by the Basic Law of 1949, three Länder call themselves Freistaaten, Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. He summarizes the arguments for boundary reform in Germany. The German system of dual federalism requires strong Länder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation, too many Länder also make coordination among them and with the federation more complicated. But several proposals have failed so far, territorial reform remains a topic in German politics. Federalism has a tradition in German history. The Holy Roman Empire comprised many petty states numbering more than 300 around 1796, the number of territories was greatly reduced during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Congress of Vienna,39 states formed the German Confederation, the new German Empire included 25 states and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. The empire was dominated by Prussia, which controlled 65% of the territory, after the territorial losses of the Treaty of Versailles, the remaining states continued as republics of a new German federation

States of Germany

39.
Parliament of India
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The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. The Parliament is composed of the President of India and the houses and it is bicameral with two houses, the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The President in his role as head of legislature has powers to summon. The president can exercise these powers only upon the advice of the Prime Minister and those elected or nominated to either house of Parliament are referred to as members of parliament. The Parliament meets at Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi, the Sansad Bhavan is located in New Delhi. It was designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, who were responsible for planning, the construction of buildings took six years and the opening ceremony was performed on 18 January 1927 by the then Governor-General of India, Irwin. The construction costs for the building were ₹8.3 million, the parliament is 560 feet in diameter and covers an area of 6 acres. The Central hall consists of the chambers of Lok sabha, Rajya Sabha, surrounding these three chambers is the four storied circular structure providing accommodations for members and houses Parliamentary committees, offices and the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. A new Parliament building may replace the existing complex, the new building is being considered on account of the stability concerns regarding the current complex. A committee to suggest alternatives to the current building has been set up by the Ex, the present building, an 85-year-old structure suffers from inadequacy of space to house members and their staff and is thought to suffer from structural issues. The building also needs to be protected because of its heritage tag, the Indian Parliament consists of two houses called the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha with the President of India acting as their head. The President of India, the Head of state is a component of Parliament, the President of India is elected by the members of Parliament of India and the state legislatures and serves for a term of five years. Lok Sabha or the house has 545 members. It has a term of five years, Rajya Sabha or the upper house is a permanent body not subject to dissolution. One third of the members every second year, and are replaced by newly elected members. Each member is elected for a term of six years and its members are indirectly elected by members of legislative bodies of the states. The Rajya Sabha can have a maximum of 250 members and it currently has a sanctioned strength of 245 members, of which 233 are elected from States and Union Territories and 12 are nominated by the President. The number of members from a state depends on its population, the minimum age for a person to become a member of Rajya Sabha is 30 years

40.
President of India
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The President of the Republic of India is the Head of State of India and the Commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. The oath of the President is taken in the presence of the Chief Justice of India, the President resides in an estate known as the Rashtrapati Bhavan situated in Raisina Hill in New Delhi. The presidential retreats are The Retreat in Chharabra, Shimla and Rashtrapati Nilayam in Hyderabad, the 13th and current President is Pranab Mukherjee, who was elected on 22 July 2012, and sworn in on 25 July 2012. He is also the first Bengali to be elected as President, India achieved independence from the British on 15 August 1947, initially as a Dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations with George VI as king, represented in the country by a governor-general. Still, following this, the Constituent Assembly of India, under the leadership of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Constitution of India was eventually enacted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950, making India a republic. The offices of monarch and governor-general were replaced by the new office of President of India, the constitution of the Republic of India gave the President the responsibility and authority to defend and protect the constitution of India and its rule of law. Invariably, any action taken by the executive or legislature entities of the constitution shall become law only after Presidents assent, the president shall not accept any actions of the executive or legislature which are unconstitutional. The president is the foremost, most empowered and prompt defender of the constitution, the primary duty of the President is to preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law of India as made part of his oath. The President is the head of all independent constitutional entities. All his actions, recommendations and supervisory powers over the executive and legislative entities of India shall be used in accordance to uphold the constitution, there is no bar on the actions of the President to contest in the court of law. Legislative power is vested by the Parliament of India of which the president is the head. The President of the Republic summons both the Houses of the Parliament and prorogues them and he can dissolve the Lok Sabha. The President inaugurates Parliament by addressing it after the general elections, the Presidential address on these occasions is generally meant to outline the new policies of the government. All bills passed by the Parliament can become laws only after receiving the assent of the President per Article 111, after a bill is presented to him, the President shall declare either that he assents to the Bill, or that he withholds his assent from it. As a third option, he can return a bill to Parliament, if it is not a money bill, when, after reconsideration, the bill is passed accordingly and presented to the President, with or without amendments, the President cannot withhold his assent from it. Article 143 gave power to the president to consult the Supreme Court about the validity of any issue. These are in the nature of interim or temporary legislation and their continuance is subject to parliamentary approval, ordinances remain valid for no more than six weeks from the date the Parliament is convened unless approved by it earlier. Re-promulgation of ordinances after failing to get approval within stipulated time of the houses of parliament is unconstitutional act by the President

41.
Lower house
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A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position below the house, in many legislatures worldwide. A legislature composed of one house is described as unicameral. In comparison with the house, lower houses frequently display certain characteristics, Powers In a parliamentary system, Much more power. Able to override the upper house in some ways, can vote a motion of no confidence against the government. In a presidential system, Somewhat less power, as the house alone gives advice. Given the sole power to impeach the executive Status Always elected directly, while the house may be elected directly, indirectly. Its members may be elected with a different voting system to the upper house, most populated administrative divisions are better represented than in the upper house, representation is usually proportional to population. Elected all at once, not by staggered terms, in a parliamentary system, can be dissolved by the executive. Has total or original control over budget and monetary laws, lower age of candidacy than the upper house. Many lower houses are named in the manner, House/Chamber of Representatives/the People/Commons/Deputies

Lower house
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Inside the Australian House of Representatives
Lower house
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Dáil Éireann, Republic of Ireland

42.
Lok Sabha
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The Lok Sabha is the Lower house of Indias bicameral Parliament, with the Upper house being the Rajya Sabha. The house meets in the Lok Sabha Chambers of the Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi, under the current laws, the strength of Lok Sabha is 545, including the two seats reserved for members of the Anglo-Indian community. The total elective membership is distributed among the states in proportion to their population, a total of 131 seats are reserved for representatives of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The quorum for the House is 10% of the total membership, term of the House The Lok Sabha, unless sooner dissolved, continues to operate for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and the expiration of the period of five years. An exercise to redraw Lok Sabha constituencies boundaries has been carried out by the Delimitation Commission based on the Indian census of 2001, the 16th Lok Sabha was elected in May 2014 and is the latest to date. The Lok Sabha has its own channel, Lok Sabha TV. A major portion of the Indian subcontinent was under British rule from 1858 to 1947, the Indian Councils Act 1861 provided for a Legislative Council consisting of the members of the Executive Council and non-official members. The Indian Councils Act 1892 established legislatures in each of the provinces of British India, although these Acts increased the representation of Indians in the government, their power still remained limited, and the electorate very small. The Indian Councils Act 1909 and the Government of India Act 1919 further expanded the participation of Indians in the administration, the Constituent Assembly was divided into two for the separate nations, with each new Assembly having sovereign powers transferred to it for the respective dominion. The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into effect on 26 January 1950, proclaiming India to be a sovereign, democratic republic. This contained the principles of the law of the land which would govern India in its new form. The Lok Sabha was duly constituted for the first time on 17 April 1952 after the first General Elections held from 25 October 1951 to 21 February 1952 and he / She should not be less than 25 years of age. He / She possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by Parliament, a seat in the Lok Sabha will become vacant in the following circumstances, When the holder of the seat, by writing to the speaker, resigns. When the holder of the seat is absent from 60 consecutive days of proceedings of the House, when the holder of the seat is subject to any disqualifications mentioned in the Constitution or any law enacted by Parliament. A seat may also be vacated when the holder stands disqualified under the Anti-Defection Law, a member both of Parliament and of a House of the Legislature of a State. System of elections in Lok Sabha Members of the Lok Sabha are directly elected by the people of India, for the purpose of holding direct elections to Lok Sabha, each state is divided into territorial constituencies. This provision does not apply for states having a population of less than 6 million, note, The expression population here refers to the population ascertained at the preceding census of which relevant figure have been published. Lok Sabha has certain powers that make it more powerful than the Rajya Sabha, motions of no confidence against the government can be introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
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Lok Sabha लोक सभा House of the People

43.
Rajya Sabha
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The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Membership of Rajya Sabha is limited by the Constitution to a maximum of 250 members, Members sit for staggered six-year terms, with one third of the members retiring every two years. The Rajya Sabha meets in continuous sessions, and unlike the Lok Sabha, however, the Rajya Sabha, like the Lok Sabha can be prorogued by the President. The Rajya Sabha has equal footing in all areas of legislation with Lok Sabha, except in the area of supply, in the case of conflicting legislation, a joint sitting of the two houses can be held. However, since the Lok Sabha has twice as many members as the Rajya Sabha, the Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who presides over its sessions. The Deputy Chairman, who is elected from amongst the houses members, the Rajya Sabha held its first sitting on 13 May 1952. The salary and other benefits for a member of Rajya Sabha are same as for a member of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha members are elected by state legislatures rather than directly through the electorate by single transferable vote method. Article 84 of the Constitution lays down the qualifications for membership of Parliament, must be elected by the Legislative Assembly of States and Union territories by means of Single transferable vote through Proportional representation. Must have their name present on the voters list, cannot be an insolvent, i. e. he/she should not be in debt that he/she is not capable of repaying in a current manner and should have the ability to meet his/her financial expenses. Should not hold any office of profit under the Government of India. Should not be of unsound mind, must possess such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by Parliament. In addition, twelve members are nominated by the President of India having special knowledge in areas like arts. However, they are not entitled to vote in Presidential elections as per Article 55 of the Constitution, the Constitution of India places some restrictions on Rajya Sabha which makes Lok Sabha more powerful in certain areas in comparison. Money bills, as defined in the Constitution of India Act 110, when Lok Sabha passes a money bill, and transmits it to Rajya Sabha, Rajya Sabha has only fourteen days to return the bill to Lok Sabha. If Rajya Sabha fails to return the bill in fourteen days, also, if Lok Sabha rejects any of the amendments proposed by Rajya Sabha, the bill is deemed to have been passed by both Houses of Parliament in the form Lok Sabha finally passes it. Hence, Rajya Sabha cannot stall, or amend, a bill without Lok Sabhas concurrence on the same. Article 108 provides for a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament in certain cases, considering that the numerical strength of Lok Sabha is more than twice that of Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha tends to have a greater influence in a joint sitting of Parliament. A joint session is chaired by the Speaker of Lok Sabha, in Indian federal structure, Rajya Sabha is a representative of the States in the Union legislature

Rajya Sabha

44.
Government of India
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It is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. There is a bicameral Parliament with the Lok Sabha as a lower house, the judicial branch systematically contains an apex Supreme Court,24 high courts, and several district courts, all inferior to the Supreme Court. Similar to the government, individual state governments each consist of executive, legislative. The legal system as applicable to the federal and individual state governments is based on the English Common, the full name of the country is the Republic of India. No other name appears in the Constitution, and this is the name appears on legal banknotes, in treaties. The Union Government, Central Government or Government of India are often used in an official and unofficial capacity to refer to the Government of India, because the seat of government is in New Delhi, New Delhi is commonly used as a metonym for the Central Government. Legislative branch in India is exercised by the Parliament and a legislature consisting of the Rajya Sabha. The latter is considered the house or the House of the people. The Parliament does not have control and sovereignty, as its laws are subject to judicial review by the Supreme Court of India. However, it does exercise some control over the executive branch, the members of the cabinet, including the prime minister and the Council of Ministers, are either chosen from parliament or elected there to within six months of assuming office. The cabinet as a whole is responsible to the Lok Sabha, the Lok Sabha is a temporary house and can only be dissolved when the party in power loses the support of the majority of the house. Whereas the Rajya Sabha is a permanent house which can never be dissolved though the members of the Rajya Sabha who are elected for a six-year term, the Executive Branch of government is the one that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers. The executive power is vested mainly in the President of India, the President has all constitutional powers and exercises them directly or through officers subordinate to him as per the aforesaid Article 53. The President is to act in accordance with aid and advice tendered by the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers remains in power during the pleasure of the President. However, in practice, the Council of Ministers must retain the support of the Lok Sabha, if a President were to dismiss the Council of Ministers on his or her own initiative, it might trigger a constitutional crisis. Thus, in practice, the Council of Ministers cannot be dismissed as long as it holds the support of a majority in the Lok Sabha, the President is responsible for making a wide variety of appointments. His/Her work is to facilitate smooth transaction of business in Ministries/ Departments of the Government, the President is de jure the Commander in Chief of the Indian Armed Forces

45.
Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002
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The Prevention of Terrorism Act,2002 was an Act passed by the Parliament of India in 2002, with the objective of strengthening anti-terrorism operations. The Act was enacted due to several terrorist attacks that were being carried out in India, the Act replaced the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance of 2001 and the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act, and was supported by the governing National Democratic Alliance. The Act was repealed in 2004 by the United Progressive Alliance coalition, the bill was defeated in the Rajya Sabha by a 113-98 vote, but was passed in a joint session, as the Lok Sabha has more seats. It was only the time that a bill was passed by a joint session of both houses of Parliament. The Act defined what constituted a terrorist act and who a terrorist was, in order to ensure that discretionary powers granted to the investigating agencies were not misused and human rights violations were not committed, specific safeguards were built into the Act. Analogous to the contained in TADA, the law provided that a suspect could be detained for up to 180 days without the filing of chargesheet in court. It also allowed law enforcement agencies to withhold the identities of witnesses, under the provisions of criminal law in India, a person could deny such confessions, in court, but not under POTA. However the law did have some safeguards, any decision on bail petitions or the verdict of the special courts constituted under this Act could be appealed from, to a division bench of the High Court having jurisdiction. Also unlike TADA, it had no provision to allow preventive detention, the provisions in the Act mentioned the possibility of both state and central review committees, but offered few details as to their formation or use. As the Act began to be misused by the state governments. At first, the committee functioned in an advisory capacity. In December 2003, by a majority, India’s legislature amended the Act with an ordinance designed to expand the scope of judicial review. The new ordinance gave review commissions the authority to review the prima facie case of a person and issue orders binding on the state government. Moreover, the review committee’s resources were limited, and it operated under no regulated time-frame, without sufficient autonomy, resources, or guidelines, the committee was an illusory safeguard. Given the review committee’s limitations, only the grievances of those persons with political connections to the government were likely to be heard. Once the Act came into force, many reports surfaced of the law being grossly abused, POTA was alleged to have been arbitrarily used to target political opponents. Only four months after its enactment, state law enforcement officers had arrested 250 people nationwide under the Act, a mere eight months later, seven states where POTA was in force, had arrested over 940 people, at least 560 of whom were languishing in jail. Several prominent persons like Vaiko were arrested under the act, on 7 October 2004, the Union Cabinet under UPA government approved the repeal of the act

Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002
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Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002

46.
Irish Free State
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The Irish Free State was an independent state established in 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. That treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between the forces of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic, the Irish Republican Army, and British Crown forces, the Free State was established as a Dominion of the British Commonwealth of Nations. It comprised 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland, Northern Ireland, which comprised the remaining six counties, exercised its right under the Treaty to opt out of the new state. W. T. Cosgrave, who had led both of these governments since August 1922, became the first President of the Executive Council, the legislature consisted of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann, also known as the Senate. Members of the Dáil were required to take an Oath of Allegiance, the oath was a key issue for opponents of the Treaty, who refused to take the oath and therefore did not take their seats. Pro-Treaty members, who formed Cumann na nGaedheal in 1923, held a majority in the Dáil from 1922 to 1927. In the first months of the Free State, the Irish Civil War was waged between the newly established National Army and the anti-Treaty IRA, who refused to recognise the state. The Civil War ended in victory for the government forces, with the anti-Treaty forces dumping its arms in May 1923, the anti-Treaty political party, Sinn Féin, refused to take its seats in the Dáil, leaving the relatively small Labour Party as the only opposition party. In 1926, when Sinn Féin president Éamon de Valera failed to have this policy reversed, he resigned from Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil entered the Dáil following the 1927 general election, and entered government after the Irish general election,1932, when it became the largest party. De Valera abolished the Oath of Allegiance and embarked on a war with Britain. In 1937 he drafted a new constitution, which was passed by a referendum in July of that year, the Free State came to an end with the coming into force of the new constitution on 29 December 1937. Under the new constitution the Irish state was named Ireland, meanwhile, opposition increased to Irelands participation in World War I in Europe and the Middle East. This came about when the Irish Parliamentary Party supported the Allied cause in World War I in response to the passing of the Third Home Rule Bill in 1914. Many people had begun to doubt whether the Bill, passed by Westminster in September 1914 but suspended for the duration of the war, Sinn Féin, the Irish Party and all other Nationalist elements joined forces in opposition to the idea during the Conscription Crisis of 1918. At the same time the Irish Parliamentary lost in support on account of the crisis, Irish republicans felt further emboldened by successful anti-monarchical revolutions in the Russian Empire, the German Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Sinn Féin party, founded by Arthur Griffith in 1905, had espoused non-violent separatism, under Éamon de Valeras leadership from 1917, it campaigned aggressively and militantly for an Irish republic. On 21 January 1919, Sinn Féin MPs, refusing to sit at Westminster, assembled in Dublin and it affirmed the formation of an Irish Republic and passed a Declaration of Independence, the irish people is resolved. To promote the common weal, to re-establish justice, with equal rights and equal opportunity for every citizen

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Republic of Ireland
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Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a sovereign state in north-western Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the part of the island. The state shares its land border with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, Saint Georges Channel to the south-east, and it is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The head of government is the Taoiseach, who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by the President, the state was created as the Irish Free State in 1922 as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It was officially declared a republic in 1949, following the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, Ireland became a member of the United Nations in December 1955. It joined the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union, after joining the EEC, Ireland enacted a series of liberal economic policies that resulted in rapid economic growth. The country achieved considerable prosperity between the years of 1995 and 2007, which known as the Celtic Tiger period. This was halted by a financial crisis that began in 2008. However, as the Irish economy was the fastest growing in the EU in 2015, Ireland is again quickly ascending league tables comparing wealth and prosperity internationally. For example, in 2015, Ireland was ranked as the joint sixth most developed country in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index and it also performs well in several national performance metrics, including freedom of the press, economic freedom and civil liberties. Ireland is a member of the European Union and is a member of the Council of Europe. The 1922 state, comprising 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland, was styled, the Constitution of Ireland, adopted in 1937, provides that the name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland. Section 2 of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 states, It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland. The 1948 Act does not name the state as Republic of Ireland, because to have done so would have put it in conflict with the Constitution. The government of the United Kingdom used the name Eire, and, from 1949, Republic of Ireland, for the state, as well as Ireland, Éire or the Republic of Ireland, the state is also referred to as the Republic, Southern Ireland or the South. In an Irish republican context it is referred to as the Free State or the 26 Counties. From the Act of Union on 1 January 1801, until 6 December 1922, during the Great Famine, from 1845 to 1849, the islands population of over 8 million fell by 30%

48.
Philippines
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The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila. The Philippines has an area of 300,000 square kilometers, and it is the eighth-most populated country in Asia and the 12th most populated country in the world. As of 2013, approximately 10 million additional Filipinos lived overseas, multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelagos earliest inhabitants and they were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples. Exchanges with Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Islamic nations occurred, then, various competing maritime states were established under the rule of Datus, Rajahs, Sultans or Lakans. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Homonhon, Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of Hispanic colonization, in 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City, in 1565, the Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in Roman Catholicism becoming the dominant religion, during this time, Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade connecting Asia with Acapulco in the Americas using Manila galleons. Aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until after World War II, since then, the Philippines has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a dictatorship by a non-violent revolution. It is a member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. It also hosts the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank, the Philippines was named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands of Leyte, eventually the name Las Islas Filipinas would be used to cover all the islands of the archipelago. Before that became commonplace, other such as Islas del Poniente. The official name of the Philippines has changed several times in the course of its history, during the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the name Philippines began to appear, since the end of World War II, the official name of the country has been the Republic of the Philippines. The metatarsal of the Callao Man, reliably dated by uranium-series dating to 67,000 years ago is the oldest human remnant found in the archipelago to date and this distinction previously belonged to the Tabon Man of Palawan, carbon-dated to around 26,500 years ago. Negritos were also among the archipelagos earliest inhabitants, but their first settlement in the Philippines has not been reliably dated, there are several opposing theories regarding the origins of ancient Filipinos

49.
Congress of the Philippines
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The Congress of the Philippines is the national legislature of the Philippines. It is a body consisting of the Senate, and the House of Representatives although commonly in the Philippines the term congress refers to the latter. The Senate is composed of 24 senators half of which are elected three years. Each senator, therefore, serves a total of six years, the senators are elected by the whole electorate and do not represent any geographical district. The House of Representatives is currently composed of 297 congressmen, VI of the Constitution states that the House shall be composed of not more than 250 members, unless otherwised fixed by law. There are two types of congressmen, the district and the sectoral representatives, the district congressmen represent a particular geographical district of the country. All provinces in the country are composed of at least one congressional district, several cities also have their own congressional districts, with some composed of two or more representatives. The sectoral congressmen represent the minority sectors of the population and this enables these minority groups to be represented in the Congress, when they would otherwise not be represented properly through district representation. Also known as party-list representatives, sectoral congressmen represent labor unions, rights groups, the Constitution provides that the Congress shall convene for its regular session every year beginning on the 4th Monday of July. A regular session can last until thirty days before the opening of its regular session in the succeeding year. The President may, however, call special sessions which are held between regular legislative sessions to handle emergencies or urgent matters. When the Philippines was under Spanish colonial rule, the colony was not given representation to the Spanish Cortes and it was only in 1809 where the colony was made an integral part of Spain and was given representation in the Cortes. On March 19,1812, the Constitution of Cadiz was approved, restoration of Philippine representation to the Cortes was one of the grievances by the Illustrados, the educated class during the late 19th century. The Illustrados campaign transformed into the Philippine Revolution that aimed to overthrow Spanish rule, proclaiming independence on June 12,1898, President Emilio Aguinaldo then ordered the convening of a revolutionary congress at Malolos. The Malolos Congress, among other things, approved the 1899 Constitution of the Philippines, with the approval of the Treaty of Paris, the Spanish sold the Philippines to the United States. The revolutionaries, attempting to prevent American conquest, launched the Philippine–American War, when the Philippines was under American colonial rule, the legislative body was the Philippine Commission which existed from 1900 to 1907. The President of the United States appointed the members of the Philippine Commission, furthermore, two Filipinos served as Resident Commissioners to the House of Representatives of the United States from 1907 to 1935, then only one from 1935 to 1946. The Resident Commissioners had a voice in the House, but did not have voting rights and this bicameral legislature was inaugurated in 1907